Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-04
Advocates Study Of Languages
in F Primary Schools of Country

I tirely inadequate and of but compare
lively little use to a pupil who is unable
to express himself and to understand
conversation in the LANGUAGE he is study
ing continued Prof. Rivot. II need cite
only the instance in which many Ameri-
can officers We're unable, because they
did not know the tongue of Cervantes. TO
| communicate with the Spanish officers
during the Spanish-American war,
thing which would have been easy had
the former been able to express them
selves in French. a language which the
latter spoke fuently."
Prof. RivOt, in support of his argu-
ment in favor of the league and its work,
quotes a criticism of the Boston Herald
under date of August IA, 1911, which
reads:
X !;
so Speaker Clark and two reading
clerks of the House were baked today
by communication in French? We are
not yet a bilingual people. Indeed.
among the higher officers of the govern
ment familiar acquaintance with for
eign tongues, ancient and modern, was
probably commoner century ago than
today. George Washington was not lin
guist, but many of the men conspicuous
in his two administrations and in those
OF the next thirty years read and spoke
French with f1uency, and some of them
spoke it after a fashion "a thing almost
unknown today. -.t.-ss-
with the coming of Jackson French
disappeared for time from the White
House. According to tradition. Old
Hickory turned red with rage when he
was told that France. in the course Of
some diplomatic negotiations, demanded
so and SO. but some one skilled in the
French language soothed him by ex-
planning the mild significance of the verb
'demander.'
Our diplomatic corps has always
brfstled with men unacQuainted with the
language of the courts to which they are
accredited and even with the diplomatic
language of Europe. There are. COM
paratively few men at Washington who
speak French, and there are not many
who read it with anything like huency.
All this is not solely because an ocean
because our system of education Is
grossly defective. We teach language
worse than any other nation on EARTH
and our young people commonly forget
learned of French. German, Spanish or
Italian at school, The condition revealed
by the amusing little incident at Wash
ington is not creditable to us merely
considered as practical people.
I'VE should demand thorough knoWl-
edge of French from persons entering
the consular service and the lower ranks
of the diplomatic service, and it should
be a matter of course that any man as
piring to the rank of minister or am
bassador should be proficient either in
the language of the court in which he
is to live or in the universal equivalent,
French. We have no reason to be proud
of our uni-lingual condition
In further behalf of the league, Prof.
Rivot declares that some years ago.
we'll known American statesman stated.
in the columns of the daily press of
New York city, that the people of the
United States, in many respects so re-
markedly energetic. are extremely in
different in the matter of acquiring any
proficiency in any other language than
their native English.
Europeans who have settled in the
new world speak and write ffuently the
language of their adopted country, and
the consequence is that many of them
have amassed great wealth." said Prof
R1vot. "The young men preparing them
selves for career in the world will find,
On inquiry, than the knowledge Of mod
ern languages will enable them to pro-
cure lucrative positions in the United
States and abroad, as there is a great
demand at the present time for fairly
educated young men. The league ap-
peals to all friends of progress hoping
that they will not hesitate, in view of
the capital interest they have in bringing
about the adoption of oral instruction in
French, German. Spanish or Italian in
primary schools. I will receive with
pleasure the adhesion of persons desir-
ing to join the league"