The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-07-20
ContindodS Spread
Of English Speech
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
IN SCHOOLS now opening in the Phil
| ippines, under the auspices of our
II government, the pupils are required
III to study English. For the first
u time, Filipino children have an op-
purtunity to learn another language.
Not even Spanish was taught under the
old regime, and only those who could af-
ford to pay for extended studies had an
opportunity to acquire languages other
than their own. In the common schools
of Porto Rico and Cuba the study of Eng
lish has been introduced this year and is
pursued there with diligence and gratih-
cation. In the government schools of
Egypt the study of English, though not
obligatory, has been specially fostered for
ten years past by the offer of prizes, and
the results are interesting. The per-
centage of pupils choosing English rose
from 26 in 1889 to 80 in 1890, advanced to
40 in 1897, while last year 6I per cent. of
all the students in these schools were
learning the English language. These
are the common schools for the common
people. In the technical and professional
schools French still predominates, for
tho reason that there are as yet no Eng
lish schools where boys can pursue cours-
cs of advanced study. Measures are
now in progress to supply this deficiency.
10
Mr.. Gladstone wrote an article in 1883
in which he pointed out that a century
ago only 100000 people spoke English;
that at the time he wrote it was the
language of 105, 100000 and that if the
rate of extension continued it would be
spoken by 120, 100000 in 1900 and by SiO-
900, 600 in the year 1000. 1t is believed
that Mr.. Gladstone's prediction for 1900
has already been more than fulfilled. The
% rpf n nf m IF
sons speaking the chief languages, made
in 1897 and undoubtedly the nearest ap-
proXimation attainable, assigned to the
Chinese language 100000, 600; English, 120,-
coo 900; Russian 100000 00O Hindu, 90OO0,-
coo; German, 10000, 900; Spanish, 49, 900, 900,
and French, 100000. The reasons why
English is distancing all competitors in
the race to become a world language are
easy to see. The English-speaking peo-
pies have more extensive business, edu-
Catlonal, and social relations with all the
rest of the world than those speaking
any other language, and, therefore. have
a special advantage in spreading the use
of their tongue. Furthermore, they
alone Of all peoples except the Russians
have room and to spare for an enormous
| increase of their own number in their
own domain. Scores of millions of this
increase will some day inhabit vast re-
| gions of North America, South Africa and
| Australia, where climate is propitiOus and
| capacity for supporting human life is still
unfathomed. No other language except
the Russian can have the privilege of so
enormous an extension in the regions
where it is already the vernacular
| --:O.-
1t has been said of the English speaking
peoples that they have contributed little
to the study of language, though they
have gratefully accepted the labors Of
foreign philologists. This may be true,
yet, though the English race may not
| have added as much to the science of
| language as the Germans have done, II
has been spreading its language through
the world anG insuring its future position
as the language of international business
and of diplomacy. We see its most im-
portant rivals today studying English
in all their advanced schools. When the
congress of social science met at Berlin
in 1868, Bismarck, then the Prussian pre-
micr. remarked to NJ. Rcndu, the French
delegate: 1--WE Germans are conversant
with French and English almost froW
birth, while you French have the disad,
vantage to know no language but youl
own" He also said that ten years ear,
ler not a soul at the French embassy al
Berlin understood a word of German.
half century ago the ignorance of edu
Gated Frenchmen of foreign languages
| was notorious, and that ignorance wa!
both the effect and the sign of the su
premacy of French before which foreign
ers bowed down. That time has passed
no one can now accuse the French o
neElecting English and German, for the!
are studied at present in every advanced
school and college Of France.
-:o:-
Eleven years ago the Volksraad Of In
South African republic passed a law for
bidding the use of any language excep
Dutch in the courts, in all public office
and even in the transaction of busines
in the market places, The vice-presiden
of the republic, urging the passage of tn
measure, said it was not too much TO eN
poct that people which had fought to b
free would uphold its own language; am
as for him, he would give every drop o
his blood to maintain Dutch as the ma
tional language of the Transvaal. To
, day most of the newspapers Of tina
country are printed in English, half tn
men speak nothing but English many @
the schools, both in johannesburg an
: Pretoria, give instruction only in Enc