Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-07-24

mountains and rivers. | am not OF
posed to the establishment of a general
language; on the contrary, would be
| pleased if it could be accomplished. But
| do not believe Volapuk is destined to
effect this marvel. 1t will succeed in
increasing the number of languages, not.
withstanding. If from among the
languages already established one is
chosen which, by its richness, possesses
the greatest advantages, then there will
be base to start from, and it should be
taken into account that it is already
spoken by numerous people perhaps by
this means satisfactory result may be
obtained in the course of centuries. In
order that the difficulties which Volapuk
presents to all nationalities may be per-
ceived | copy a newspaper paragraph
written in said language:
'Om lets met vrucht te kunnen YER
beteren. dien men echter eerst de gebre.
ken groudig to keunen, en- het is better
deceive moedig ouder de OXYGEN te zien
dan den blk to sluiten en- nit te reopen !;
'alles is volmaaxtp Laten vii dus on
partijdig nagaan in welke opzichten de
wereldtaal verbetering behoeft."
What Englishman, Spaniard, French
man, or Russian could find similarity be-
tween his mother tongue and this jargon
perceive then that Volapuk is CHI
mera Notwithstanding certain learned
man has different opinion. Now the
question of selecting universal language
is not so difficult. Let the New York
Herald speak on the subject"
''If we need universal language that
would be for all nations what the man
DARN dialect is for the different provinces
of China, we could adopt the ancient
Greek or the modern Spanish. Putting
aside the prejudices that arise from
affection and association, there is no Ian
guage so logical, so beautiful, and at the
same time SO exact in the simplicity of
its rules as the Spanish, and its impor-
tance is greater then is generally sup
posed when it is taken into account that
it is spoken in all the countries extend
ing from the Rio Grande to Cape Horn
and that it has left ineffaceable remem.
brances from the coast of Florida to dis
tant Oregon. For the purposes of dis
course, eloquence, devotion, poetry or
conversation, the Spanish has no superb
or among living languages, and in many
respects possesses excellences that none
other can equal"
The Times Democrat. the leading paper
OF New Orleans, expresses itself as fol-
lows:
''In fact, in the present time the great
est attention is being given to the ques-
ton of the adoption of universal Ian
guage, and never with more reason than
now, in which the state of progress de-
mands said measure as a real neces sity,
"There was time when Greek was the
language of the civilized world. Then
Latin succeeded which has been more
generally spoken than any other. Then
French had its turn and has been used for
some time in the higher classes of all
countries. To-day the English tongue
Eeal est approaches universally, never
theless in these later days it has been ex-
tended comparatively little. In the pres
ent day all countries are striving after
uniformity, and it is to be regretted if on
the one hand has been attained that
which relates to weights, measures, etc.,
which simplify mercantile transactions,
on the other no progress has been made
in regard to the language question. On
the contrary We seem to get further away
each day owing to the fact that each ma
ton desires to have its own speech pre-
ferred.
" AS necessary consequence of
this difficulty the Volapuk language
was invented, which. as everyone
knows, has failed in accomplish
ing the desired end. The formation
OF a new language is almost an impossi-
bility, it lacks point of departure, it
lacks people who speak it. In that case
it would become written, but never a
spoken language.
"Let us then discuss the selection of
language in use. The task of finding
one that serves for universal speech is
very simple. The Arabic has been pro-
posed, on account of its richness and
harmony, and because it is parent to the
majority of European languages. The
Sanscrit also has been mentioned but a
dead language is impracticable.
"The Herald is right. Put aside the
question of race, and consider the Span
ish as the language best adopted for gen.
eral u.s.. Besides being better adapted
than any other for eloquence, poetry,
conversation and commerce, it is so
similar to Latin that it can be
easily learned by those possessing a
knowledge of said language. Its pronun-
citation is simple and agreeable to the
ear. OF mathematical simplicity, it is
at the same time the only phonetic Ian
guage among living ones. 1t is the easi-
est of all languages, and with the excep-
ton of English, Russian and perhaps
German, is the most spoken in the civil
lied world. Let the English, German
and French lay aside their prejudices,
and they will find in the Spanish tongue
a Volapuk already made, infinitely supe-
rior, as spoken language to the linguis-
tic invention of Scheleyer."
Ii to the adduced reasons we add that
in the higher schools of all civilized coun-
tries, Latin (Which is mother of the
Castillan) is taught, and that besides
in the languages most used there
are large number of words taken from
the Latin, there is no doubt but that the
language of Cervantes is called to occupy
the position of universal speech, if some
day the beautiful idea should be realized.
After reading the opinions of La Re
publica of San Francisco, the New York
Herald and The Times. Democrat of New
Orleans, we can assert that the said Cas-
tilian language is not only very beauti-
full but possesses the advantage of being
easily learned. In no other language
can one learn to read we'll in so short a
time as in the Spanish. After many
years of practice as Professor of said
language, confidently assert that any one
devoting himself to the studyof Castilian
can learn to read and spell it correctly
in one month, or in less time. Conse
quently, if one can 30 readily read lam
Ut,ooa suralv thara chopld hp No difIioul-