The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1888-07-07
"A Universal Language.

\
ton Of q universal language is at
tracing great attention at present.
The need of one is greater than ever
before, yet we are apparently drift
ing further away. There was time
when Greek was q universal Ian
guage in the civilized world, then
followed Latin-perhaps as univer-
sal as ever human tongue has been
aud finally came French, which for a
time at least, was the language of
the upper classes. To-day English
approximates closest to uniyersallty.
1t is most spoken of all civilized
tongues, and is largely used in com
merce, but although more common
in Europe than formerly, it is max
ing but little headway except by the
increase of the English speaking
races.
Thus. while the world is approach
ing uniformity in other matters,
while it has adopted, with rare ex-
ceptions, universal scale OF
weights, measures aud distances, o
universal postal service, and all civil
lied nations are coming nearer to
each other, they are getting further
away in the matter Of language,
each insisting that its own should be
accepted as the standard.
Volapuk and the other manufac-
tured languages are the natural con,
sequence Of an attempt to supply
what the world to-day recognizes as
q deficiency. They present some
advantages, yet they are necessarily
unsuccessful. It is almost impossi-
BILE to create q new language. 1t
lacks the starting point, it lacks a
population that speak it; and 1t can
at most hope to become written
language, and never q spoken one.
II We could hit upon q language al
ready spoken that could be generally
used, the task of securing a univer-
! sal tongue would be q comparatively
easy one. Arabic has been propos-
| ed, because it is musical. has large
| vocabulary and is kindred to most
European tongues. Sanscrit has
also been suggested, but to this the
objection has been urged that it is,
| to oil intents and purposes, q dead
language.
The New York Herald has, in
this connection, a suggestion which
we think ON admirable one, as
follows:
If we want universal language
| to be to the nations what the Man
DARN dialect is to the diversified
provinces Of China, we could take
the ancient Greek or the Modern
Spanish. Laying aside the preju
dices arising from affection and as
sociation, there is no language SC
logical, so beautiful, and at the same
time so mathematical in the simpli
city of its laws, as the Spanish. 1t ha:
a wider range, when we take in the
American provinces from the Rie
Grande to Cape Horn, than would
be supposed. 1t has left an ineface
able impress upon the United States
from Florida to Oregon. For every
form Of speech-eloquence, devo
ton, poetry or conversation-Span
ish has no superior among living
tongues, while in many respects i
has excellences which no livint
tongue can rival.
! Every word the Herald says il
true and if the world is willing Il
cast aside racial prejudices it will
hud in Spanish the universal Ian
guage it has SO long sought. First
as the Herald says, it is tongu
we'll fitted to eloquence, poetry, con
vcrsation or commerce. 1t is clos
to the Latin, and therefore easll.
learned by those who know Latin
| its pronunciation is easy, sonorou
and pleasing. 1t is almost mathe
matical in its simplicity, is the onl.
phonetic language spoken-'h
phonetic system having been intro
duced into it some two centuries ag'
is of all tongues the most easll..
learned, and is already spoken b.
more people than any other civilized
language, excepting English an,
Russian and perhaps German. |
: the Englishman. German ant
Frenchman will but drop prejudIces
+Lo, will End IN Suauish 4 read,