Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-16
SCOR ES
F0N ElTIC
EAKS
Benz. Ide Wheeler
Would Preserve
Language
Says 1t Is Not Property
OF This cr Any Other
Government
-
"There Is No Excuse" Says the Presi-
dent Of the University of Cali
fornla, "for Thru for
BIZ Associated Press.

By Associated Press.
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, Sept. Is.
Commencement exercises which were
postponed from last June were held
here tonight.
The commencement address was de-
livered by Benjamin Ide Wheeler, pres
ident of the University of California.
President Wheeler's address was on
the subject of philology. After tracing
the growth of the English langua ge,
he said:
''In the inevitable discussion of it's
reform, however. sober consideration
of all that is involved must warn
against the rash imperiling through
shallow Judgment of the greater good
tain points of view.
"First-Uniformity in the written
language throughout it's entire territory
in any given period, as the present, is
prime demand of civilized intercourse.
'Second-The esta blishment for the
United States of a standard of written
English different from that recognized
elsewhere in the English-speaking ter
ritory is an isolating and divisive
movement promising loss and waste to
intercourse and culture, and intro
ducing consciousness of contrariety
where the opposition is desired.
''Third-The English language is not
the property of the people of the United
| States, still less of it's government; 1t
is precious possession of the English
speaking world, and the moral author
ity to interfere in its regulation must
| ri nI1t nf q WI
from segment thereof.
"Must Not Be Trifed With"
"Fourth-Every person who is born
to the use of the language inherits
thereby a definite advantage in the
world of Intellectual gain, for influence
and effectiveness. This inherited ad-
vantage constitutes vested interest and
must not be trifled with.
"Fifth-Any radical change such as,
for instance, would be involved in pho
netic writing would have the effect of
cutting us off from the language of
Shakespeare and the English Bible,
making this semi foreign idiom, to be
acquired by special study.
"Sixth-The adoption of a phonetic
writing it should further be remem-
bered, would involve imitation of the
various dialectal forms of the spoken
language-all of which is highly inter-
esting to phonelogists, but to the plain
reader anathema.
"Seventh-Print is addressed to the
eye, and the readers eye. taking in
whole words or even the composite
form of whole phrases in rapid glance,
is disturbed and hindered by abnormal
forms of spelling.
"lIighth-The proposal gradually to
introduce through the cooperation of
volunteers a certain number of new
spellings, and then, when these are well
under way, presumably certain others.
seems to promise an era of CHASTITY con-
fusion in printing Offices and in private
geography and heterography, as well
as-much irritation to readers eyes and
spirits.
"Ninth-The list of three hundred
words proposed by the simpified spell
ing board Is q somewhat haphazard
collection following no very clear prin-
ciple of selection. One hundred and
ffty-seven of these, such as color for
colour, are already in their docked
form familiar to American usage.
There is no excuse, however. for
thru for through from any point of
VIEW