The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-04-24
Subject Arouses Considerable
Discussion Among French
- men Of Learning. y :
FRENCH IS SECOND CHOICE
Germans, Knowing Their Language
Was Inadequate as World Tongue,
Boosted Artificial Languages D.
Such as Esperanto. "
BY LLOYD ALLEN, :.

BY LLOYD ALLEN. r
CWestern Newspaper Union Staff Cor
respondent)
Paris.-It's beginning to look as II
English will be the world language
Of the future--with French as a close
second choice and with German run.
ming poor third. -.
This discussion Of "world lam
guage" which is occupying consider.
able attention around Paris, reveals
among other things a strange chapter
Of German duplicity and trickery. 1t
knowing the German language was In
adequate as a world tongue, tried their
best to get the world to think favora-
bly, Of certain "cooked-up" languages
made to orJer things as it were, in or;
der to prevent French or English from
being considered as the Legitimate
world languages. -
These artificial tongues. such. as Es-
peranto, which was probably the best
known to them, In America at leastS
were fairly numerous and each one
was given some sort of an odd name.
They were called Esperanto, lido, Novo-
Latin and several other queer-sounds
Ing Names Naturally enough there were
a few people in nearly every country
that took up these tongues and learn.
ed them. But at best theT languages
were. and are fads, and are unequal
to the great task assigned tfem-the
task Of becoming a world tongue.
An international Language.
Paul Mieille, French scholar, a cola
lege professor who holds the chair of
English at the Lycee and who is WELL
known promoter Of International edu5
cation, Is authority for the foregoing
remarks anent Esperanto and Ger7
man. His brochure on the SUBJ
ject of a world language has attracted
considerable attention. in France and
England recently. =
While some political economists are
talking about the establishment Of an
international currency that will be-
worth it's face value all over the world
and while others are talking Of kind
Of International government that will
prevent future wars, Of international
control Of the drug traffic, and several
more "lnternationalized" subjects, in
Guiding international welfare, :. the
Frenchmen Of learning are discussing
the international language Of the flu
ture. And they admit, ,modestly
enough, that English will probably be
the favorite as world tongue be-
cause English first Of all is the best
known and most widely spoken Ian
guage Of business and mercantile tran
sactions In the world today.
Acknowledging that English is bound
to be the favorite the French profess
sors claim their own language will nat
urally take second place in preference
to German.
Possibly the Germans some years
ago foresaw the coming popularity Of
English and French and the consequent
showing of the German language into
third place in the race, because it was
before the war even that the "kuitur
crusade" for popularizing Esperanto
and lido and the other artificial Ian
guages started, according to Mieille.
English and French.
Briefly, 1t is Mieille's idea and the
opinion Of other noted French and
English scholars that the world needs
two languages for its future welfare
English and French.
While there was lot of speculation
some years ago about finding a univer-
sal tongue, such as Esperanto, we had
as living languages in this world Of
ours the two tongues that completely
filled all requirements. There was real
~ no need for inventing a new Ian
guage.
There has been kind of official
adoption Of the idea that English and
French shall be the world languages OF
the future in the fact that proceedings
Mt the peace conference have been con.
Quoted in these two languages. The
procedure has been cumbersome, 1t is
true, but 1t has been possible for prac-
tically all Of the delegates to under
stand everything that takes place in
the way Of speech making.
The French clique of educators pro-
noting the plan Of making English
and French the common international
tongues want the peace conference, or
the league of nations. Ito perpetuate
the procedure of the peace conference
and make both tongues the official Ian
guages for conducting the business OF
the league of nations.
Semiofficial communications have
been addressed to the various govern
ments that were lined up against Ger
many, and to many officials of all these
governments recommending the plan.
Numerous senators and deputies have
gone on record as favoring the scheme
Costly Peep.
New York.-The Hoorwalker said