, 1896-03-23
PROPER NAMES.
Pronounced Like English, but With the
Right Syllable Accented.

As the English language has well
well able to deal in its manner
with almost any possible combination
of letters brought into it from other
languages, it would seem to be not only
permissible hut proper for English
speaking people to pronounce foreign
names according to English malogIes.
1t is not incumbent upon Americans or
Englishmen to familiarize themselves
with Russian, fer example, before they
may venture to pronounce the name Of
a Russian diplomat, or study Chinese
in order to be i'll a position to mention
casually some Chinese proper name. 1t
is enough. as Il general rule, to give to
| the old combination of sounds presented
to us III dispatches from Japan, Bull
garia, the Trarsvaal or Venezuela such
uttcraIce as the laws of our W Ian
guagc prescribe. Hit or miss, life is too
short to master tie orthoepy of every
tongue and we must be content to do
the best we can in II own WY. EsIe-
CHILLY Is lillf wv TAU NlAi lltINl Ii'll.ttt'
that have lGGg lad place in Tie English
language and have Il recognized Eng
lish pronunciation. II is mere affecta-
ton to covert Paris into ParCe. CT apo
the German pronunciation of tho namc
of Wagner. the we'll known musician
and composer. hy giving a V twist to the
first letter Paris is Paris, and Wagner
is Wagner. the siames being CoEiIn0n
and well understood. \ person in the
first enthusiasm of his acquaintance
with a foreign language may be par.
doncd for airing his superior knowledge
when uncommon ameS not adopted i'll
common lnglisb speech, are i'll ques-
ton, but he becomes ridiculous when
he undertakes to impart a foreign &C
cent to familiar names. There is Il story
Of II New York clerk. named Gordon,
who after II months stay i'll France be-
came-"Gor-r-rdong' and refused to Il Il
swer to any other appella;ion. His case
was an extreme one perhaps, but it il
Illustrates the vice-too common-of
using with excessive ostentation foreign
instead of the more useful and intelli-
gihle English pronunciations.
With respect to Latin and Greek prop
er names a s~tricter rule may perhaps be
conceded to apply. These languages are
the implements Of culture. The rules Of
pronunciation applicable to words rams
ferred from them into English are
simple and few, and well within tho
reach of every ne who pretends to Il
classical education. A false accent is &C
cordingly objectionable, and among
classic scholars correctness of accent is
the accepted test of sound and thorough
training. But in the sounds given to
particular letters there is room for the
manifestation of vanity or immature
Judgment. Cicero's name during the
lifetime of the great Roman orator was
undoubtedly pronounced Kikero, and
Caesar was kaisar. Other ~consonants
and all the vowels were in classical
Latin pronounced in a way which our
English letters once followed, but from
which they have now for the most part
departed. At college it is well to learn
what is thought to have been the true
Latin pronunciation. All know ledge is
useful. But it is unnecessary in quot
ing Latin after leaving college to aim
at a painful consistency. In respect
indeed to names like Cicero and Caesar,
which have been domesticated, so to
speak, i'll the English language, the
usual rule applies. They are to be pro-
nounced like English words, only tax.
ing care to get the accent on the right
syllable. The English speaking AIreri-
can people accept, i'll fact. the common
sense rule that pure English is always
preferable to a %potpourri of German.
Latin and other pronunciatinns -Balti-
more Sun,