The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1886-12-28

o1 the pralseW0rthy efforts OF
levi among our authors, and IN
offbemarvellous average Of pure
sh maintained over the whole
len vast domain But we need
- profound and scolarlike IN
bon Of the growth as well as
~ iecav Of our language; for 1t
q apparent that new things,
-.Jects. new discoveries, new
ID thought are daily forcing
legitimate birth words which
INC progress instead of decline.
~ uportant that the shifting pro
IN shculd fall into competent hands,
as viii save the golden particles
q rqfect the dirt. Horace. as will be
mbered, recognizes the principle
gi0Wth IN the Latin Of his day, and
,zasts the law of its word coinage
~ ienanded by natural progress.
~ nothing could save the Latin from
& 6ecav: ~the Phillistines We're
at as upon Samson. Cloths and
slals sent their hordes: and the
. .-ful q g.t1 rolgarS was created ont
d sediment. which Dante came in
toshaue into ''the fairer offspring
air mother. All very well. but
obviously for the interest Of the
that the English language
t-lI not suffer decay. Its wonder
diffusion Is gain to the human
but Il every colony and Deepen
Australia. India. AIelanesia,
II bat u1t-is to develop a several
~ while we. i'm the United States,
rs he ike on q Titanic scale. it is
aas7 see that Babel must return.
TtT be sand that the telegraph and
rha ress TEND to harmonic and to
con idate the speech of all Allgld0-
rt peoples. If l may coin word on
nv theory. So they do, but they
do tend to consolidate it IN its
rn and beauty. And SO. l say, we
On 10 set watchmen upon our
wa TO guard US against barbarian
invasion. while admitting whatever is
worthy to be assimilated. 1t seems
10 me not unlikely that our American
sshols' VIII take the lead in the mat
ter. a. ough it is clearly the duty of
she r, ISL universities. at the head
D 1rted streams of colonization,
take this work for the race.
,cognized the labors of John
he should have assumed from
~ the great results, worthy Of
al academy, which he had
unaided. Private enterprise
VS. now. engaged IN a gigantic
nm ing In which the universities
nj uthily claim part. No indi-
81. as any right, ike our Webster,
o. aft his personal peculiarities
un he common tongue. The cur
rr in Of the commonwealth Of
til and intercourse should bear
no ate image and superscription.
T. dent. moreover. that as nobody
wa speak the French of Canada
" ayti. nor even that of Brittany
u rgne. so nobody wants a pro
viu English dictionary Webster
has .upted our spelling sadly; on
VIVA inciple it IS hard TO imagine
Hev ties honor and .fdOor and SaUior,
plea lng Latin derivation: but our
tongue is only remotely connected |
with the Latin. Why melt out the !
beautiful Norman filament of gold |
which adorns photography and softens
0rthDepy2 The rationale, unless it be
10 save ink. is not obvious here. Is it
s3uDd5 He drops the vowel that we
utter and retains that which disap-
pears. We do not say Savior" but
rSayi ar. Webster's editors have
him IN this instance. SaU-
isr Is not formed from Salrator but
hum SqavsgT. So his rule, not based
D. sound. violates etymology. Honour
crnes from h0nReWr not from h0HOr;
and the etymon Is sacrificed, for there
i nothing Of this in the Norman root,
in sound or spelling. The
v1d far5aT might plead something
o. the Websterian form, as we have
~ French word faccHr; but then, we
have no Latin word .faUor, and the
coinage should follow the Norman
tyre IF words with which 1t CORES
ycl3s. II seems near OF knto FairegT,
8 sneller of cookery, from which a
5ast ard rrrar seems to have proceed /
a3 meaning the scent inhaled; the
reur's sa-par begethng .farcur in
French Of the cuisine, perhaps. Inter
estur specimens Of such composition
Ct syIlables VIII occur to readers of
Old French and medieval Latin. And
as touching photography, one word on
.ha insanity of the Joaetik slul, if that's
Ihs way they write it. 1t has gained
one adherents among scientists and
but 1 have never seen any
s1swer to the inquiry. Would they
hen revolutionize all our literature
.l6 reprint all English standard au
bors IL the new jargon2 Does any
,o6y imagine that a ShGksFer, so met
ln0rphosed would smell as sweet2 Is
I'd the spelling Of our old authors
pr Of their genius? Admitting that
115ern editions have modified Shake
qeare.s spelling. can we afford to re-
lucr Ii III to illiteracy. and read