The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-11-14

1 the earth. Where floats the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes. there English is leavening the foreign lump. In India England controls 25O.000000 of subjects among whom the English language is be- throughout the world. Look abroad over coming more and more familiar. Who are the greatest travellers in the world7 /The English speaking people Who are the greatest colonizers on earth? The English speaking race. For confirmation of the facts, look to Africa, to Australia to the Antilles, to New Zealand and to the possessions of the United States in the far east Besides we are to remem- Der that English is taught as a qualifi- cation for business success in nearly all the countries of western Europe, not in- cluding Spain and Portugal. The vast dominion of Asia, with It's uncounted mil lions of souls, Ihas awakened from its somnolence to the commercial importance of knowing English. This means that English must be learned. Japan Is not only learning the methods of western commercialism, but it is studying the English language as well.
 In order that English might become the dominant tongue of the world other languages must be displaced Could this possibly be done? believe 1t possible. Not in a day. nor in century, but slow ly and in accord with the normal methods of general progress among the nations. National tongues have been displaced. The Gaelic is nearly gone. Only in a few obscure places, out of touch with tho world, is it ever spoken. The science of philology has taken but little account of it, and while recently an association has been formed to save 1t from absolute ob- livion, 1t Is of but little interest to any one but the antiquarian or the philologist
 There was a time when the Hebrews spoke an uncorrupt language throughout Palistine. Tn this pure Hebrew their glorious old prophets foretold national and ecclesiastical events, in 1t their sing CTS sang and their writers wrote. But Jerusalem. 'the joy of the whole earth" was humiliated and its people made, cap tive to another nation. In exile new gem erations were born and reared. Upon the return of the nation to their own land, their ancient vernacular was practically lost and in the course of time fell into disuse altogether. They spoke something of a Western Babylonish dialect, a Syri- ac-Chaldaic or Aramean, the pure He brew remaining only in their literature, and requiring. when read in their syna- gogues, a Methurgeman or interpreter. The 'Muttersprache" of Jesus, the Jew, was that of his countrymen, and not the old Hebrew. What is the language of the Jew today7 It is the language of the country in which he was born. If he be born in America he is as truly an Ameri- can as anyone, and the language of this country is his mother tongue.
 The language of the ancient Greeks has, also, been displaced. although 1t endurance. It was commensurate with and speculation. It was a perfect medium poetry. Its excellence, in all respects. the language of Hesiod of Homer, of So- crates, of Plato and Aristotle; 1t was spoken by Demosthenes and Aeschines in 1t wrote Herodotus and xenophon; the New Testament was written in 1t, and in Greek the church fathers wrote their pas- torals their polemics and their apologies. Even when the Romans conquered Greece, they largely adopted the lan- guage of their captives. But finally, Greek was displaced by the tongue spoken by Sallust by Virgil by Cicero and by Horace.
 The old Greek as spoken tongue is no more. The ancient Ionic of the Homeric poems. and the polished Attic of the most highly artistic people of ancient times. remain only in the books Plans are now in operation in Greece. by order of the king. looking to compilation of a his torical lexicon. Its purpose is, to save