The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-10-06
ENGLISH THE WORLDS TONGUE.
Spoken i'm Every Cline and SupersedinE
All Other LANGUAGES.

All Other Languages.
The wonderful spread of the English
tongue is a point OF great interest to
scholars and to business men alike. 1t is
said that in any prominent part of the
world today an English-speaking person
will be able to find some one to converse
with him in his own language. Three
hundred years ago this tongue, in an in
ferior form, was limited to an island about
the size of the state of Washington. This
island, hemmed in on all sides by foreign
tongues and hostile nations. finally broke
out across the Atlantic and spread its con-
quests in every direction, until today the
sun never sets upon the entire dominion
of Great Britain.
Her colonies belt the globe, and her
language is heard in every part, $50 0O0, goo
people in India are rapidly becoming An
glcised and are leaving their native habits
and vernacuiar behind. The queen OF
England is also empress oil India. Aus
tralia first settled by convicts, has become
an empire scarcely less civilized and moral
than England itself, where the English
tongue prevails.
The Dominion Of Canada, now stretch
ing from Atlantic to Pacific. and connects
the mother country with her Australian
provinces by the Canadian Pacific, and her
mail steamers. Africa. the dark continent,
Is sSirted on the south and west, by belt
OF English colonies rapidly increasing in
wealth and Importance, where English is
daily becoming more prevalent. The
United States. outgrowing their childhood
relations, perpetuate their mother tongue
and seek to assimilate all classes that come
to their shores, by teaching all the English.
Over one hundred million people today
speak the English language, and they rep
resent the most civilized classes of either
continent. But the English itself is grow
ing
Planted upon the terse, pithy, heartfelt
Saxon, which still retains 60 per cent. of
the stock now in service, the English gath
ers from all chimes. Thirty per cent of its
present stock is based upon the Latin, in
troduced by the Roman conquest, but gain
ing its prestige through the Latin Christ
ianity. Modern science has gathered large
collection from the Greek for its technical
terms, and these now constitute per
cent. of our spoken tongue. The young
student is astonished to find the words of
common life introduced by science, such as
botany, geography, astronomy, geology.
sCOhCtiy ctC., are pure uISch.
Nor is it from classic tongue alone that
the English Incorporates its additions.
We come in daily contact with a score
of tongues. each of which leaves its i'm
press in some word apparently more fitting
than ything we have had before i'll
stock.
Thus the Scandinavian and the Arabic,
the Chinese and the Indian each contri-
bnte to swell the volume of the English
and to draw it more nearly to the hearts
of all corners by making additions from
their vernacular. For this manner of
growth both our location and customs are
favorable. An asylum for oil nations, the
United States coin from ali corners words
TO suit the everchanging emergencies OF
the day.
What shall be the outcome?
As in Aexander's conquest Greek be-
came the classic tongue OF score of ma
tons, as Rome by her well managed gov
eminent carried Latin everywhere, so
English seems destined. through the COM
bined Influence of England and America,
to spread over the entire civilized world.
The prevalence OF Germans among Amer
leans, and the close relations of the houses
of England and Honoyer favor the incor-
poratlon of many German terms in our
dialect, and possibly the Anglo-Saxon and
Teuton may reunite. The commercial
superiority of England among the Chinese
promises another conquest similar to that
of India, and the earnest search of Japan
csc and Chinese for English civilization
and learning may work partial yielding
of these ancient monosyllabic tongues to
the more modern word system.
Possibly on Puget sound, where English
and American meet in friendly commerce,
there is to be great remoiding of our
vernacular. from which it shall be carried
through the Straits OF Fuca to the last
heather nation, and these made to feel its
superiority by daily comminglng of
tongues.
China is not destined to overrun
America. 1t is possible that American
customs and civilization and language may
overrun China. ID. j. PIERCE.