Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1901-11-29
GERMAN LETTERS.
Their influence on Learning the
Language In This Country.

Their influence on Learning the
Language In This Country.
If you ask nine cut OF ten young Amer
leans Of German parentage whether they
are able to read and write German, you
will get the answer that, though they can
speak German, they cannot read and
write it. Only those who have attended a
German course in school acquire a higher
knowledge Of that language, but their
number is small compared with those who
are taught by their parents only.
The reason why so few children of
German parents gain a better knowledge
of that language is to be found in the
fact that Germans stick to their alphabet,
compelling every one to get familiar with
about twenty-five small and twenty-five
capital letters in the written alphabet
and about the same amount in the print
ed alphabet-that is, the student of the
German language must impress upon his
brain almost hundred characters before
he can start Many lacking the proper
amount of perseverance have given up in
despair and learned French instead of
German, though the latter language and
its literature would have been more to
their liking.
A poem by Goethe or Heine, a descrip-
ton of nature by Humboldt, are just as
sweet and inspiring whether printed in
German or in Roman letters. 1t seems
incOmprehensible that countless thou
sands should have been deprived of the
treasures contained in German literature
but for the Obstinacy of some ruling Ger
mans sticking to their obsolete alphabet.
The Dutchmen and Scandinavians, who
formerly employed the German letters,
have discarded them long ago. Not so our
/ German cousins. They uphold their pc
culiar alphabet as if their national exist.
ence depended upon it. Many a time
have / put the question to my German
cOuntTymen why the Roman alphabet
should not be substituted for theirs. One
will say, "The German letters give the
language its character" Another viii
say, "Such a question must be left to mel
like Bismarck, who never accepted boOl
unless printed with German letters.
Who dares to oppose the opinion of Bis
marck, even if he is ten years in tn,
grave? Goethe's words refer appropri
ately to this matter:
Es erben SIGH gesetz' und rechte
Vie cine ewige krankheit fort.
"Eine ewige krankheit" a diseas
without end-that is, in my opinion, tn
German alphabet.
OF incalculable value would have bee
the Roman alphabet for the Germans i
the United States. One alphabet for bot
languages. That would make it easy 70
German parents to teach their children
1t would not tax their patience, as it
now the case, to learn the foreign letters
Children would be tempted and induce
to read the paper that the father read.
I provided it is printed with the same kin
Of letters as the English paper All tn
time wasted in public and other school
with the crooked letters could be employ
ed to better advantage. The child woul
notice Immediately the easy way of spell
ing German words far easier than til
English, as every German knows. TheI
is no prejudice against the German lal
guage in this country. Wherever I'll
Germans are numerous enough and al
piled to a board of education for Germa
instruction their wish has been gratife
{ Where the results have not met the e,
pectation, where children learned only
, spell their names with German letter
/ | that fault was with the German alphabe
H. Fiske in New York Times.