The Spectator. (Ozark, Ark.) 1911-1916, 1914-08-07

AoSo shAlN lOL4E llcn hutN
friend from foe by the language test.
More than half of all the wars Of Eu-
rope have been fought by parties mu-
tually unintelligible.
Broadly speaking, all European Ian
guages belong to the Aryan group.
Inc most important exception is the
Magyar, dialect OF the same Ian
suase spoken by Turks and Firms.
How Divided by Language.
or the Aryan tongues there are three
great general divisions in Europe-Ro-
nance, Teutonic. Slavic We are In
terested only In the latter two And
Oh the Ieutonic German is spoken by
oo'ooo 700. OF which 100000 are In
austria and 100000 In Hungary.
There are 140.000.000 Slavs in Eu-
rope
FROM this it appears that the pres
ent political boundaries are not coter-
mlnous with linguistic groups.
Right here in this fact We have the
seeds OF present and future trouble
and clue to the causes of most of
the wars in eastern Europe through
1000 years
SIav Situation In Europe.
To get before us the full signifi-
canoe of the fact suggested by the
map let US consider the linguistic com
plexion of these countries.
Russia is veritable hodgepodge of
tongues, but of her Slav population
alone We have at least two distinct
elements today bitterly opposed to
each other with the possibility if not
the probability of third, which will
seek recognition.
AS against Russians proper there
are over 100000 Poles, and OF the
remaining Slavs there are 5000, 900
Ruthenians, or Little or White Rus
slams as they are sometimes called
OF the general Polish situation l shall
speak later
In Germany there are over 5000, 900
Slavs, chiefly Polish
or Austria's 30,000.000 population
only about third is German, the re-
mainder being Slav. of which there are
wv Ns'NV'VNO NAtNuS VI ),
100000 Poles, 100000 Ruthenians,
and million and a quarter Slovenes.
Many Tongues in Hungary.
Hungary is even more diversified
in tongue. The Magyar element
U0,000,00O) is eQualed by the non
Magyar made up roughly of 100000
Germans, 100000 Slovaks, one-halt
a Million Ruthenes 100000 Serbo-
Creates. all OF the Slavonic tongue,
and about 100000 Roumanians who
do not speak Slay at all. but a Ro-
nance language
We need not here consider the lin
guistic affinities OF the Balkan states.
II Is enough to say that Servia Is pure
ly Servian and Slav, Bulgaria is Bull
gar and Slav Though the basis OF
blood OF Bulgars is, like that OF the
Magyar. Asiatic).
The population of Montenegro. about
half million. are Slavs OF the Ser
Wan branch. Rorman:ans are of
mixed origin, but the Roumanian
tongue is spoken by 10000 600 people.
OF which five and half million are
in Roumania (92 per cent OF Its total
popuation), the remaining millions
are found in the Dual Monarchy, Ser
via, Bulgaria and Russia.
People Develop Languages.
Millions of people today speak Pol
ish whose ancestors few generations
ago weren't conscious of the fact that
they spoke any language at all To
day there is a Slavonic literature;
so years ago no one even thought OF
such a thing. The millions Of Bohe-
mians had become almost entirely Ger.
mans, and never before have they
been so thoroughly Slavonic as today.
Bohemian hostility to Germany has
been called a passion 1t was not SO
very long ago that the language OF
the Hungarian parliament was Latin;
Magyar was held fit only for peasant
talk. Today the bitterness between
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