The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-17
sUpRRfonITY or GERwAv.
A Language ThGt Necessitates No Ready
Inference Dictionary.


To TIRE EDITOR OF TRR SUN-Sir: IaDpre-
ciate a right and ready sense OF humor. but
IL is abnormally developed in "0ne Who
Thinks He Knows Both" 0anguagesl. lie
finds a delightful bit Of unconscious humor'
in my assertion that mo German ever needs
a dictionary to understand and pronounce
his mother tongue" What is ridiculous in
the ancient fact that Germans never use a
dictionary? Is IL funny that Englishmen
never look for words Of Saxon derivation in
their wordbooks? admit that a few foreign
words have found their way into the German
langusg e. but l could pick out only seven on
fifty page OF a modern novel / am reading.
The German usage OF writing compounds in
one word is q wholesome check On the mis-
use OF OVERRIDING the compromising OF woros
and makes a clear sense. Every single word
tnounl In a sentence should stand for one thing
or idea, and a foreigner Is puzzled whenever
he meets an English compound double or
triple noun. English and American humor-
lists may max e fun of German word monstrOsi-
ties. and German boys may delight in COM
pounding bees" but the common languag GO
(the Sprachgef1hD keeps steadily strict ac-
count and harmonious measure and accepts
only what adds 70 the strength and beauty Of
expression. Every German writer or speaker
coins compounds of his own, and some OF
them penetrate TO the ends Of the world
Neitgeist. kultuTkampf, Vanderbilt, de-.
They cannot be properly translated. and no
foreigner can appreciate their exquisite subtle
fla NGOethe ca lis q young girl "morgen-
sch6n," II means nothing for an Englishman.
but the expression thrills a German like a
beautiful June morning.
The English lanRua re. however rich and
copious II il, has almost entirely lost the cree
tive faculty OF coming new words from old
native roots. II is pitiful TO see The old strong
idiom vainly struggling a IN inst the high tide
of modern scientific and technical, OF Latin
and Greek terms. An article in n ia per Ou
a modern subject and an article in the Spec
tdtor Of 200 year. ago read almost like two
different languages. and there can be M
question which ia the better and stronger.
The German Ian guage ovprcomes this crisis
aud these difnCllties as mere things 10 play
with. The German scientist or engineer may
use technical terms, but the comrnon people
name the same things, down to the chemical
element u, in their own idiom, The German
names are always more expressive, and even
if "Fernrohr" and Terg rosserunRsels -"
should be cltmsier than telescope and micro
scope. they signify literally q far OookinRl
tube and "Rlas to make things look larger"
while the Greek names mean nothing and
might inst az well be Chinese.
have 10 apologize for my pretPnsions In
signing myself ~ "one who knows both Ian
qua geH. NY mother tongue Ia German, but
7 have lived for many yea RS among English
speaking people and ha ye thorou ghly en-
iOyed both hternturss since my boyhood.
As IL would be difficult or impossible for me
TO say whom I loved better, Goethe or Shake
speaTe, Heine OF Burns. a or Locke. I beg
to sign myself Aa ONE no Loves Both.
NEW YOEK, October ~.