The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-04-22
GERMAN SAVANT QKWELSa
Professor kaaO Aeysf on the Welsh
Language and>Literature.
OLDEST MAN IN OLD GWALIA
Dr. SALMON Enters His Huudred and
seventh Year and Receives Con.
CALCULATIONS from the Great.
sst Statesman of the Age.

Professor Kuno Meyer. Phi. D., NJ. A.,
q great German linguist, declared re-
Gently that Of all Celtic nationalities
the Welsh alone would finally succeed
in keeping up their native language
and literature; they would be practi-
cally the last representatives or the
mighty Celtic world. There was reel
ing prevalent In England that the
Welsh language should be left to Ole.
but this was based on practical anu
unitarian views. 1t was a well-known
fact that, of all civilized nations. the
English were the slowest in acquiring
foreign languages-whether from In
capacity. lack OF interest, or want or
will he could not determine; perhaps
II was due to q mixture of the three.
Nowhere else in the civilized world did
we meet such extraordinary phenemon
as men living for years and years
amidst people speaking different Ian
guage to their own without making the
slightest effort to acquire knowledge
Of it.. In Poland those belonging to
other nationalities. IL appointed pro-
fessors at the universities, were obliged
to learn the native language within two
years, and now that there was a Welsh
university established, he felt that
somewhat a similar rule might with ad-
vantage be introduced into Wales. 1t
seemed to him inhuman that O man OF
education, nay, of learning, should
care to live for years among popula-
tion speaking q language of which he
could not speak or understand a single
word-it was like being intellectually
deaf and dumb: nor could the sympa-
thy Of such u man be very deep with
the people with whom he lived. 1t was
a pity that members of parliament
Oh al M, ztk nlI St,,tr tt,ni -
constituents through an interpreter or
always laundering from ignorance Of
the native language. Once upon a
time q Welshman wrote u letter to a
friend, but misdirected 1t. with the re-
suit that 1t could not be delivered. The
postal authorities opened the letter
with the view Of ascertaining the ad-
dress Of the sender, but, as 1t hap
pened. the ADDRESS also had heen omit
ted. and there only appeared on
the ton the words. mos Fawrth"
TUESDAY night. This the officials
mistook for the name of place, and,
for all he knew. they were still search
ing for place called mos Fawrth."
The professor traversed the assertion
30 commonly made that knowledge
Of Welsh was hindrance to a proper
study of English. The advantages
possessed by a bi-linguist was indis-
putable. A bi-linguial people the
Welsh ought to remain. Welsh could
not compare with English as Ian
guage Of international Importance, but
whatever In the Welsh life was of pure
ly native growth should find its ex-
preston In Welsh. A fact which was
not generally known was that there
also lived in Wales a tri-lingual people.
These first came into Wales some 200
years ago, and one Abraham Hood was
said to have been their leader.
Most of them had given up their row.
Ing habits and had settled down to
trades and Industries. They had re-
tanned their Indian language, the Ro-
manys. He had often met members
of this family, viz, the Robertses. of
Newtown, the famous harpists, and it
had struck him as remarkable that
not only did they speak Welsh and En-
glish perfectly, but their Romany was
the purest to be found anywhere. Pro-
fessor Meyer hoped that one result of
the revival of learning in Wales would
be that some gifted Welshmen would
undertake to give to the world transla-
tions into English Of their own stan
dard literature, for Of all Celtic litera-
ture Welsh was the least known in
English, and he laid considerable stress
upon the Importance of preserving in
q permanent form the dialects Of the
Welsh language.