Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-08
STUDYING THE PHILIPPINES.
A Grammar Of Tagalog Prepared by a
Johns Hopkins Professor.

From the New York Sun.
For two years past DIR. r. r. Blake has
been conducting courses In the Tagalog
and Visayan languages at Johns Hopkins
University. Tagalog is spoken by most Of
the Inhabitants of the northern part of the
Philippines and is the language of the edu-
Gated and more intelligent classes. Visa
yam prevails very largely in the great CEN
trail group of the archipelago. DR.. Blake
has now prepared a practical grammar OF
the Tagalog tongue and there Is no doubt
it will be most helpful to all Americans in
the Philippines. Practically all the works
on the Philippine languages and dialects
are in Spanish or German. At last we have
a practical Tagalog manual in English.
If we keep on studying the languages
and the customs of the natives of our new
possessions we will be doing just what
the British did during the rise and expan-
than forty years the British government
has encouraged linguistic and chronological
research in India as much as possible.
By this means the work Of acquiring
more intimate knowledge of the peoples of
India was facilitated: and it was worth all
1t cost. many times over.
In 1900 the American Oriental Society
urged upon Congress the Importance of
extending the work of the bureau Of Ameri-
can ethnology to the Philippine Islands
for the study Of the languages and customs
Of the native populations and the issuing
of simple vocabularies and other works
which would be of use to officers of the
army and navy and the civil service in
those islands. Congress has not yet seen fit
to act upon this suggestion. though its
practical Importance has been urged not
only by orientalists, but also by some OF
our foremost representatives in the Philip
pines. If the work which the bureau Of
ethnoiogy has done among our Indian tribes
had been carried out half century ago
we should have understood the abOrigines
better and doubtless would have been wiser
in our dealings with them The white race
has succeeded best in its intercourse with
other races when all the parties concerned
have come to know each other very well.
It is an old story that the great mutiny
Of 1857 in British India might have been
tridges for the British rifles then in use
were creased with suet and lard. The
Hindu SepOys, of course, had a great pref
udice against both these articles. while the
lard was an abOminatiOn in the eyes Of the
Mohammedan soldiers. The military order
was issued and the SepOy and Mohamme-
dan soldiers were told that they must obey
it. Probably If the British had been famfl-
lar at that time with native prejudices
they would have taken care not to offend
needlessiy the sensibilities OF the native
troops. and the trouble might have been
averted.
In English will have the same usefulness
among our countrymen in the Philippines
as the Practical Arabic Grammar" COM
piled years ago by Major Green of the
Royal Engineers for the special purpose
of meeting the requirements OF British
officers In Egypt. has had elsewhere. The
work was In such demand that 100 copies
of the first edition were issued sheet by
sheet to the officers as they came from the
press. The EnElishmen couldn't walt for
bound copies. Tho first edition was ex-
hausted In nine months.
We are teaching English in the public
schools OF Manila. but 1t win be years be-
fore the great mass even of the better edu-
Gated people can talk English. At present
we need nothing moro to facilitate our ef-
forts to develop the Filipinos and their
country than the ability to talk with them
in their principal languages and make tho
mutual acuuaintanceships and friendships
which such knowledge would promote. i