The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1904-02-27
HEARD IN EVERY REGION.
Growth Of English Language a Marked
Sign OF the lines.

- ~N
The notion of a universal Ian
guage, to be devised from ele.
ments most nearly common 10 the
chief languages, is revived in re.
cent discussions in Germany. 1t il
a fascinating project, and one on
which no end of ingenuity can be-
expended, though with no immedi
ate prospect of returns. Mean.
while, says the New York Times
1t Is worth recalling that the ten.
dency toward a common tongue is
most strongly marked in the
steady and relatively rapid exten.
sion of the use of English.
The latest estimate of the move.
ment of the different European
languages which has been re.
ceived as approximately correct is
that of Mulhall in 1891, embody.
ing the figures for the nine dec.
AIDES from the opening of the nine
teenth century. According to this
calculation the various languages
of Europe We're spoken in 1901 by
l6l,S0O,0O0 people, and in 1890 by
40l, 100000, an increase of about
100 per cent. At the beginning of
the century the four chief Ian
guages were French, Russian,
German and Spanish, the French
speaking people forming 1914 per
cent. and the Spanish 1862 per
cent. The English-speaking peo-
pie amounted to only 70 per cent.
BY 1891 the different languages
stood in the following order: Eng
lish, III per cent; Russian and
German, each 1871 per cent. Span
ish, 1911 per cent, and the remain
der divided between Italian and
Portuguese. The number of Eng
disappearing people had grown
from 20,250,000 to 111.1OO.OO
German and Misunderstanding
people from about 30,000.O00 to
15,0OO,O00each, and French-speak-
ing people from 31,450,00O, to 81,
100000. 1t will be seen that in
these 80 years the English Ian
guage had advanced from the fifth
place to the first, and at the close
was spoken by at least 80 per cent.
more persons than any other Eu-
rOpean tongue.
The increase in the number of
English-speaking people was in
round numbers $1,000, 900, and of
this increase 70,000,O00 was in the
population of the United States.
Some allowance must be made for
the immigrants into the United
States who do not speak English,
but this is not relatively impor-
tant. What the figures show, and
it is of extreme Importance, il
that the increase in the numbers
of English-speaking people is out
OF proportion to the natural in
crease and is largely due to the
number of emigrants who leave
their native countries and learn
TO use the English language. 1t is
clearly a process of conversion
that is going on. While in the sta
tistics of language it appears as a
process Of Adjudication, in real
ity ii is one Of Americanization.
Much has been written within the
last few years of the growth of
the United States as a world
power and this in great measure
has been due to a victory over a
tourth-rate European power and
the acquisition of the thinly PEG
pied and undeyeloped islands of
the Philippine archipelago. But
the real seat of the power of the
United States to influence the
world lies within its continental
borders, with the vast and con.
stantly growing population OF
varied origin gradually formed
into a homogeneous and progress.
sive nation.
Balloon Shooting.