The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1900-07-27
SOME FA1oUs
= LINGUISTS

soUME 7 AOUo
= LINGUISTS
There ape said to be 800 distinct Ian
guages spoken by peoples now living in
the world, and about 5000 dialects. OF
the various languages. SO are allotted
to Europe, 1913 to Asia, ia to Africa,
III to America. and AT to the islands
Of the Pacific and Indian oceans. No
one man could ever learn all these
languages, however great his powers Of
memory might be. but there have at
periods been some extraordinarily gift
ed persons who acquired many tongues.
DR.. Gottlieb William Leitner, who
died at Bonn. In Germany, last March.
was the most noted linguist Of this
generation, speaking and writing fifty
languages. He was interpreter to the
British navy in the Crimean war, and
was especially learned in the Oriental
languages. The most famous linguists
Of antiquity were Mithridates. king Of
Pontus, who is said to have been thor
oughly conversant with the languages
of the twenty-five nations over which
his rule extended; and Cleopatra, queen
OF Egypt. Of whom Plutarch says that
'she spoke most languages" and that
there We're but few OF the foreign
ambassadors to whom she gave audi
ence through an interpreter" The an
cient Romans do not seem to have ex-
celled as linguists, few Of them having
added to their native Latin the knowl-
edge Of any other language than Greek
In the Middle Ages the wars of the Cru
sades gave new impulse to the study
of languages, and the German emperor,
Frederick II, spoke fluently six. Arch
bishop Ximenes Of Toledo, in the thir-
teenth century, spoke at least seven
languages and probably more. Pico
della Mirandola, an Italion born in 1862
learned twenty-five languages. Will
liam Postel. q Frenchman born in 1910,
was familiar with fifteen languages.
J. j. Scaliger, another famous French
scholar. born in 1914. spoke thirteen
seventeen. Eusebius Renaudot, born
at Paris in 1916. also mastered seven
teen languages. M. Fulgence Fresnel
had the reputation Of knowing twenty
languages.
One Of the most celebrated linguists
Of the Teutonic race was Nicholas
schmid, Saxon peasant, born in 1906.
who translated tho Lords Prayer into
fifty-one languages. A Scotchman
named James Crichton. born in 1851, I'M
dertook to dispute in any Of twelve Ian
guagca. John Toland, an Irishman
born in 1863, spoke ten fuently, and
had some knowledge Of others. Sir Will
liam Jones, an Englishman born in l741,
learned twenty-eight languages. Sir
John Bowring, another Englishman,
learned seven languages before he was
10 years Of age, and finally mastered
almost every language Of Europe. Prof.
Samuel Lee Of Cambridge, England,
was acquainted with sixteen languages,
In most Of which he was able to write.
OF the late Solomon G. Malan, an Eng
ish divine, and author, who was born in
1872. 1t is said that at 10 he could write
In thirteen languages, Oriental and
European, and among his published
works are translations from tht Ar
abic. Persian. syriac, Ethiopic. He
$ brew. Coptic. Armenian, Georgian,
Mongol Chinese, Korean, Japanese,
Greek, Russian. Welsh and Gothic. He
10 said to have learned to speak Armen-
ian huently In a fortnight, and he
preached In the Cathedral Of Kutais.
But 1t IL to the Roman Catholic
church that the world IL indebted for
\ the most remarkable succession Of linz
gusts. owing no doubt. to the infiu-
ence Of the College de Propaganda Eide
and Of the schools established In Rome
for the training Of candidates for mis-
sions In all parts Of the world. Nearly
all the linguists Of Italy from the close
of the Sixteenth century appear to have
been either actually missionaries or
Y connected with the colleges Of the for
eign mission. The most illustrious Of
all the italian linguists and probably
the most remarkable that any country
In the world has ever produced, was Jo-
seph caspar Maxxofanti. who was born
ut Bologna In 1774, was created Car
dinal In 1883, and died at Rome in 1S4S.
/ The list of languages and dialects he
acquired reaches the astounding total
Sof llzi A full Int Of them may be found
IN Doctor Russeli's ''Lafe OF Cardinal
4 Messofanti. Il Il not to be supposed
that he knew al these languages and
dialects equally well. but lila certain
that he spoke thirty languages with
rass excellence; many Of the others he
spoke duantly. and the rest he had
sstndied from books 80 as to read them
with facility ana understand their Pc
culiarities. Doctor Russell, who knew
the Cardinal personally and had often
}conyersed with him, has recorded at
testations Chat in the power Of speak