New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-07-28
THE DYING" LANGUAGES.
A Discussion of the Right to Live"
Of the Czech Tongue.
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor OF The Tribune.
Sir: a prominent New York Bohemian
writes to me as follows ."The New YoFk
Tribune Of July IS contains an article by
William Lyon Phelps, LampEon professor Of
English literature at Yale University, en-
titled 'Nationalsm in Languages Is Petty
and Provincial. Let the Dying Languages
Go to Their Graves. Czech and Gaelic Stand
in the Path Of Progress Do you know Pro-
lessor Phelps? Do you know Of him? Is It
possible that this scholar of a great Ameri'
can university does not know that Czech or
Bohemian is not dying language, but a
very live tongue, spoken by some ten million
people,"
Not having seen the article in question,
am not able to judge what his line OF argu'
ment may be, but, assuming that The worcs
quoted represent his views, | cannot help but
think that Professor Phelps has allowed him.
self to be led into an objectionable error o.
judgment by his insufficient knowledge o.
matters Slavic. Czech is to-day spoken oy
more people than Danish, Swedish, Duten'
Rumanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Greek, nm
nish or a number Of still minor units, sueh
as Sovak, Rhaeto- Roman, Lett,sh. Yiddisn,.,
etc. II Czech is a dying language then al
these extremely active tongues are deade'
than a door nail. But they all possess val
liable literatures and some OF these compare
favorably with the numerically more foriH
nate literatures Of Europe. II Professor
Phelps means to say that the smaller units
should disappear before the larger aggr.
gates, then logically all should be aosn'
e 1 h.
less Esperanto.
AS logical proposition such a thesis may
indeed, be maintained. IL would be dellgnF
full TO be able to converse with the whole
world in ones own language, but at presea'
the Germans would like to impose their Va,
rety OF speech upon an unwilling world ana
the tendency OF civilization. outside OF Ger.
many, is to encourage the development o.
the separate units and not 10 suppress men
This may be a regrctable fact, but fact
remains, and it is more than useless 10 msss
propaganda against the maintenance OF we
minor linguistic units. But Profess"
Phelps makes the additional mistake OF a.
lacking the Czech language, which has hO'
only an exceedingly fine literature, but nap.
pens 20 be responsible for the whole slA'"
regeneration in the nineteenth century
As Professor Phelps has ably champlon,,i
the whole Of Russian literature, he shou.
have been aware Of the fact that without 's'
profound pathological works OF the OLe'H'
Dobrovsky, Palacky and Jungmann tnels
would not have come 70 pass that marVe'Ou'
natonalistic development which is TO De seq
not only in the Russian national conseVs'
ness, but also in the consciousness Of ~
Poles, Serbians Bulgarians. Soyenians s.s
SlovakS. II is true, when these protago"'s
Of Slavism were active that IS. IN the peg.
ming of the nineteenth century the
language had little chance Of survival
they themselves wrote their important VIZ
in German, the scientific language OF hu'Vr
at that time. Meanwhile the smaller nS"Va
have developed their individual lntelie'.
lives, and Germany has by degrees 50 CO.. .O~
pletely alienated the respect OF tne ''
that return to German is praetiealF "a
possible except through the use OF the ma
fist. II is incredible that Professor fne.s
should have meant TO align himself VIE ~ r
tongues LEO WIENER
North Sandwich, y. H., July p, 1870