The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1902-09-06
bible USED. AS A IExI:aRQ0Kl.
Many People Fiud 1t Helps Them in
Studying Foreign Languages.

30~A11 4eOp4C AuU ~ 11SAVo AA3~s~ As4
Studying Foreign Languages.
From the New York Sum-
/ At the American Tract society's Of
flee there is a constant demand for the
New Testament in various languages
from persons who use it less for re-
ligious instruction than as an aid In
the study Of foreign tongues.
Some students buy the smallest and
cheapest Testa1hents printed by the
society in French, German. Italian,
Spanish, Greek or one or another Of the
Oriental languages; and armed with g.
single leaf cut from q small Testament
in English. use the two together in
studying the foreign tongue as they
go to and from business.
A still simpler method employed is
to cut single leaf or chapter from
each Testament and thrust them fold
ed together into the wa1stcoat pocket
against the journey to or from bust
ness Many foreigners in New York
improve their English in this fashion
and incidentally extend their acquaint-
ance with the Gospels.
Some students buy -Testaments with
the English text and that Of some for
eign language printed in parallel COL
umns. This FORM is extremely conven-
lent, but the books are necessarily
rather large, and on that account are
not in favor with those who study In
public.
There is pretty steady demand
for Latin and. Greek Testaments with
parallel texts and there is now an in
creased demand for the New Testament
in Spanish for use in the study of that
language. German French and Italian
Testaments are also considerably called
for, and Testaments, even in the Ian
guages of eastern Europe are occasion
ally asked for.
A man who tried this method OF
acquiring a reading knowledge of for
eign tongues declares it by far the
easiest he knows of. He has expert
mented with French, Italian, Greek
German and Anglo-Saxon. OF these
he found Greek the most difficult and
French the easiest, with Italian next
Latin.
His method Is to give an hour a. day
for five or six weeks to the grammar
Of the language he means to study,
and then to begin reading the Gospels
with the aid Of the English text. At
the end of a month, reading from half
to three quarters of an hour a day
and keeping up his grammatical stud
les, he has seldom to refer to his Eng
lish text, and at the end of three
months he is ready to undertake the
reading Of newspaper published In
the tongue he is acquiring.
|: This particular experimenter believes
that man of average gift in acquiring
language can, in four years, gain a
fair reading ~knowedge of French,
Italian, Spanish and German, giving
not more than two and one-half hours
day to all four, provided always
that he never let's a considerable time
e1apse without reading the language
with which he is least acquainted, and
that he gives at least half the time
each day to the language last UNDER
taken and that he takes up no new
language until he is fairly at ease with
tnaC last Undertaken. ->~-~'- = 'o'
/ The learner who neglects a. newly un-
dertaken language for a week will note
loss OF skill in reading. and he that
gives considerable time daily for a
fortnight to- language neglected for
six or eight months will Immediately
see an improvement in his power to
translate. ...
With each new language undertaken
the reading of the New Testament be-
comes easier, until at length the paral-
lei text can be almost discarded after
the first week of. reading.