The sun., 1888-02-26
SOME NEW BOOKS.
The story or opr Easiish speech.

SOME NEW BOOKS
IT.. s..-x .r o,- E,.,,.h s,..eA.
An immense amount OF research ana Oh
digestive and classifying labor Is represented
IN the Origins Of the English People ana he Eng
Hsh Language by Prof. JEAN hoEMEh 'Appie-
tonsl tits not the author Q purpose TO examine
the accessions to our vocabulary from Latin
and Greek sources during the last nve hundred
years On the contrary. his aim fs limited TO
an Investigation OF the elements out OF which
was evolved the language employed py Chaucer
and wyklih In tho latter hall OF the fourteenth
century. whom what had been midland dialect
became the national literary tongue. TO make
his inquiry exhaustive. however. within even
this restricted field, tho author has been COM
psled to institute minute comparison OF tho
English written In tho reign OF Edward Ill, not
only with the extant remains OF older forms OF
English. but also with the Irish. Welsh. and
Gaelic, the Gothic, the old medi@val and new
High German, the Low German. Dutch. and
Flemish. and the Scandinavian languages. The
results OF collation. and analysis In these various
directions are supplemented by an appendix
itself comprising nearly 200 pages-on the
French sources Of modern English the term
French embracing most Of tho dialects belong
ing to the ldnoue foYl IS those we're adapted to
literary uses up to the close OF tho sixteenth
century.
How did tho term English come to be ap-
pfied 70 the peoples and dialsctso OF that part OF
southern Britain which was wrested from the
RonsAized Britons9 Tho decree bsstowtns
the nalme England on the country occupied BY
King Esbert: aAd. as he was West-Saxon
princa Il seems at first sight strange that the
word Saxon was not preferred. The choice OF
AypeIlAton 10 usually explained on the ground
chat Bgbert wished to reconcile the Angles OF
central and northern England. who were much
more numerous than the Saxon settlers, and
who. under the kings OF tho Northunbrian and
4erdian lines, had long been predominant, to
Nest-Saxon supremacy. Prof. Rosmer. how
sver, suggests another reason which may have
ak least cooperated with the motive just men,
toned: "Tho utter ruin OF the Saxon power
upoa tho Continent lby Charlsnagnel may" he
thinks, "have rendered 1t advisable for the
0euons Of England to avoid complications such
% might arise from an identity OF name." Eg-
bert may naturally have felt misgivinEs lest
ChAriemaSne and his successors should avail
themselves OF any plausible pretoxt for rein
cooperating Britain in the reconstructed Ro-
man empire. Some strong political motive
tAero must have been for giving the whole con-
eedtes OF kingdoms and sub-kingdoms tho
AAme OF people With which Egbsrt's subjects
had OMEN been at war-and that, too at the
very time whom the West-Saxon royal house
had acquired Q frm grasp Of the overlordship.
aAd whom the West-eaxon dialect was about
C0nder AlfreH to replace the Northunbrian as
mo literary medium.
!!
Prom Roemer fs not ono OF those students OF
early ENGLAND who believe In tho almost total
determination Of the Romanized Brttons by tho
Saxon invaders In tho region lying west OF
Cumberland Shropshire. and Devonshire. His
own conclusions on this subject are expressed
In the following sentences. which we ind on
page 127: In Wales the change OF language
now In proeress Is accompanied BY very little
1AfuHoA OF saxon blood The same must also
have been tho case at an earlier period within
Mercia and Wessex. whore In spite OF all Saxon
measures OF exclusion the bulk OF the people
Is admitted III to be OF Celtic blood. The Saxon
keels cannot have transported any very numsr-
srous population. and. no doubt. the ceorlA or
churls. long continued to be the nearly pure
blooded descendants OF the aboriginal Colts OF
Britain" But why. then. do our dictionaries
exhibit 80 few Celtic wordsf The author ac-
kpowledges tpags lid that the influence OF tho
Cslts upon the early English was rather lit
srary than lexical" and that " few Celtic words
hsyo been retained In the English language"
Nearly all these. as might bo expected from the
relation Of the conquered people to their con-
Querors. reier to domestic matters ana OBJ
Jeots OF slight Importance. Excepting the words
6srd druid and park, which are found In all
European LANGUAGES, the only common nouns
whose Celtic origin can be affirmed with any
degree OF certainty are the following: Basket.
barley. clan, crao crock c1ockey glen. o'tddls,
hoe. "aaocs mop. ,oeH. ~hfskev and possibly
fsnnsl and dru00et" When We turn. however,
from tho dictionary to tho map we lind In local
proper nouns tnnumeraole survivals OF the
Celtic speech. 1t Is certainly noteworthy TACT
that throughout tho whole OF England lpaRe
!Isl there is hardly single river name which
1s not Celtie" The usual welsh term Tor
river was aJon' but this which Is common
noun In wales has In Its Anglicizod form be-
come the proper noun Avon. Thus. there Is
SHatiord Avon' Bristol Avon. Little Avon,