New-York tribune., 1900-03-15
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE-AND OTHERS.

In recent address. marked in the main with
eloquence scholarship and high political wis
dom. the Chinese Minister to this country en-
tered upon some discussion of the English
language. He recognized the fact that 1t is
steadily coming into more general use as a
means of International and nterlingual com
munication, and that. indeed it is probably
destined to become the all but universal Ian
guage. Upon that fact he looked with salts
faction. He even desired to promote the prog
ress of English speech toward universal usage,
and to that end urged the desrability of spelling
reform and other changes in the direction of
making the language simpler and more easily
acquired by foreigners. In that he repeated,
with an eloquence and grace all his own, com
mon complaint and common plea that have
been heard innumerable times from our own
people well as from foreigners, but which,
nevertheless must regard as insufficient and
i'll founded.
For. in the first place. the with which a
language is learned by foreigners and the ex
tent of its throughout the world mat
ters of only secondary Importance We should
like to have everybody able 10 learn English
perfectly Mr.. WI has done, and to do SO in
thirty days. We should like to see it adopted
as the universal language But would not
have either at the cost of imparing in any de-
gree the intrinsic beauty and power of our
mother tongue. The first consideration of all is
that it is the English language, the language of
English literature, the language of the English
speaking race. 1t is, above all else to be pre-
served for such use; and whatever changes are
made in it are to be made with such use and no
other in view. We would not lessen its beauty
and grace for our own just for the sake of
making it a little easier for foreigners to use.
We would not lessen its strength of expression
-ha of nl,-
spoken. The English language is the birthright
of the English speaking race, and it is to be
jealously guarded as such. Foreigners who
|swish to It must come up TO its standard.
not seek to have it brought down to theirs Be
tween pure English confined to Onetenth the
human race. and pidgin English" used by all
mankind, the former is to be chosen every time.
But, men say. spelling reform on phonetic
principles does not mean "pidgin English" No,
but it means something worse, something com
pared with which "pidgin' seems dignified and
scholarly. The derivation, the birth. the legti-
macy of descent of words, are set forth in the
spelling of them Alter that spelling. and you
deprive them of their certificate of legitimacy.
The ''superfuous letters against which spelling
reformers rage and upon which joke makers
pend their feeble wit are often the birthrght
titles of the word Abolish them, and you leave
it nothing by which it is to be distinguished
from the bastard offspring of onomatopoetic
Jabberwocky. Nor is that all. Phonetic spell
Ing so called would conceal not only the origin.
but also the meaning Of words; and in addition
TO that would actually alter and degrade the
pronunciation of them. Phonetic spelling is a
| misnomer 1t does not spell words as they are
pronounced. unless as they pronounced by
the illiterate and uncultured. 1t aims to change
the true pronunciation as much as the spelling
of words.
And 1t is doubtful, finally if even the poor
plea of ease of learning is half as valid as some
would make it appear. 1t is TO be believed ad-
visedly, that with all its difficulties and with all
its complexities the English language is to-day
the easiest TO learn and the simplest of all the
great languages of the world. We believe that
is demonstrated by the readiness with which il
is learned by foreigners who come hither-a
readiness far greater than that shown in the
learning of other languages. The much talked
of silent letters" in English are the merest
trifle compared with those in some other mod
ern languages. and the same may be said of
irregular verbs while, when we come 10 cues
tions of infection, of gender and what not. our
English seems simplicity itself by the side of
its would-be rivals. No doubt II is susceptible
of Improvement. Changes wi.l hereafter be ef-
fected in It, as they have been hitherto effected
But they will be wrought through gradual
growth and natural development and not by
any sudden revolution through any artificial
rule. Great languages grow; they are not made
The enemies of English tried some years ago 10
construct on scientific principles universal
language which should supplant English They
called 1t Noiapuk. 1t was very simple, very
logical, very scientific. But 1t was an utter