Morris tribune., 1883-05-05

One of the most significant facts of
on; tin,e is the wonderful increase of the
English language. The original Brit
aims were Celts whose language was
neither Saxon nor English. Their island
was seized by the Romans before the
birth of Christ, and they were held in
subjection for 500 years, but in ali that
time they did not become Latinized, and
when their masters left they carried the
Latin language with them.
After the Romans came the Saxons.
But their occupation of the island had
very different result. They were mas
ters of the country for about the same
length of time, but they ceased very
soon to be foreigners; and SO complete
ly did they crush out the original Brit
aims, or so completely mold them into
their own manners and customs, that
the whole country, with some small ex-
ceptions, became Saxon and the Saxon
anguage was the language of the peo-
pie.
The Saxons, in their turn, were con-
quered by the Normans. When Will
lam came over in 1906, he and his ret
inue of Norman captains came as mas
ters, and for many years the country
was governed by the sword. The estates
of the Saxon mobiles were confscated
and possessed by their Norman conquer
ors, the Saxons were despised and tram
pied under foot, the manners and GUS
toms of the conquerors pervaded the
higher circles of social life, and Norman
French was the language of the King
and his court, of Parliament, Of the
courts of law and of the official records.
But still the Saxon language maintained
its hold with wonderful tenacity. At
first the Norman mobiles sent their sons
to France to be educated, but,
as the Norman rule became confirmed
by time, these French connections were
gradually weakened, while the necessity
of communicating with the Saxon Doors
who did the drudgery of the kingdom
brought into familiar use many Saxon
words and phrases; and perhaps as many
French were caught up by the Saxon
laborers. This necessary intercourse,
continuing through many generations,
converted these two languages into jar
gon which was neither Saxon nor French,
but bad mixture of both, with some
remnants of the Celt and the Dane.
But it crept by degrees into Parliament
and the educated circles, was adopted by
some of the ruder poets, was reduced to
something like grammatical forms, and,
in the course of 200 years, came into
general popular use as the English
language.
In the year 1900 the English-speak-
ing populations amounted to about
twenty-four millions.
Whittaker's almanac for 1881 puts the
number Of English-speaking people at
eighty-one millions, showing growth
in eighty years of fifty-seven millions.
The older languages do not increase
in the same ratio-German is now spo-
ken by sixty millions, French by forty
millions, and Russian by ifty-fve mill
ions.
These facts illustrate with amazing
clearness the tendency of those great
forces which are regenerating the world.
Wherever goes the English language
goes also the English Bible; and wher-
ever the Bible goes, there is An intense
love of freedom and all equal hatred of
injustice and oppression. There, also,
is to be found the church, the Sunday
school, the minister of religion, the
newspaper and all those appliances of
civilization which mark the progress of
the age.