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CHAPTER II.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES.

§ 23. LANGUAGES are so numerous that a classification is absolutely necessary in order to a convenient consideration of them. A classification can be made only so far as the affinities and diversities among them are known. In the present state of comparative philology, a full classification of all the languages spoken on the globe is quite out of the question. So little is known of the Chinese, the Japanese, the Tartar, the Malay, and of many other languages, that only a general classification can be expected until the study of ethnography shall throw additional light upon comparative philology.

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CLASSIFICATION ADOPTED IN THIS WORK.

$ 24. The common classification, founded partly on ethnological and partly on linguistical principles, is adopted in this work, as practically more convenient.

I. The Chinese stock of languages. II. The Shemitic stock of languages. III. The Indo-European stock of languages. IV. The African stock of languages. V. The American stock of languages. VI. The Oceanic or Polynesian stock of languages.

It has been found that the average number of persons speaking the same language is greatest in the civilized divisions, thus indicating a tendency in civilization toward a unity of language. This tendency is strongly manifested in the most civilized nations of Europe, namely, the English, the French, the Germanic nations, inasmuch as science, religion, travel, and commerce produce extensive intercourse with each other. The ancient tendency was to diversity, the modern is to unity, of language. And if, in the early ages of the world, causes were in operation elsewhere, as well as on the plains of Shinar, which produced a confusion of tongues in the human race, we are prepared to believe that causes are now in operation which will produce an opposite result.

How far can a classification of languages be made? ed in this work. What was the ancient tendency, and

State the classification adoptwhat is the modern?

CLASSIFICATION OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN STOCK.

§ 25. The Indo-European stock of languages, sometimes called the Japhetic, is subdivided into the following families: 1, the Sanscrit; 2, the Iranian or Persian; 3, the Latin; 4, the Greek; 5, the Celtic; 6, the Gothic; 7, the Slavonic; 8, the Lithuanian; 9, the Armenian; 10, perhaps the Finnic, Tartarian, and some oth

ers.

The received opinion is, that these languages took their origin from a common parent, namely, a language spoken somewhere in the central or southern part of Asia, not far from the birth-place of man, and that they spread from thence into Europe. Hence the term Indo-European.

THE SANSCRIT FAMILY.

§ 26. This word Sanscrit refers not to the locality where it was spoken, or the nation that spoke it, but to the character of the language. It is derived from that common parent just mentioned, and is itself the mother of the present languages of India, namely, the Hindostanee, the Bengalee, the Pali-Mahratta, &c. Sir William Jones says, "The Sanscrit language is a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of the verbs and in the forms of grammar, than could have been produced by any accident; so strong, indeed, that the philologer could not examine them all without believing them to have sprung from a common source."

THE IRANIAN FAMILY.

§ 27. This is the ancient language of Persia, the sacred idiom of the Magi. It is sometimes called the Zend. Coming from the same source as the Sanscrit, it spread itself among the worshipers of the Sun, and is the parent of the several dialects now spoken in Persia. It was in this language that the Zendavesta was composed by Zoroaster, fragments of which still remain.

THE LATIN FAMILY.

§ 28. The Latin is the language which was spoken in Italy by the Romans. It is more ancient than the Greek, and is the mother tongue of the Romanic languages, namely, the Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Wallachian, and the Provençal.

Give the classification of the Indo-European stock. Describe the Sanscrit family of languages. Describe the Iranian family of languages. Enumerate the several members of the Latin family of languages.

THE GREEK FAMILY.

§ 29. The Greek language was spoken in ancient Greece in its several dialects, as the Attic, the Ionic, the Doric, the Æolic. It is the parent of the modern Greek or Romanic. It has furnished important contributions to the English.

THE CELTIC FAMILY.

§ 30. These languages were spoken by the Celts, or Kelts, who are supposed to have migrated from Asia at some early period, and to have been impelled onward by successive emigration, until they found their way to the western part of Europe, to Spain, to Gaul, and to Great Britain. One branch of this stock has been called the Medo-Celtic, containing the Erse, Gaelic, and Manx. The other has been called the Perso-Celtic, containing the Welsh, the Cornish, and the Armorican of Brittany in France.

THE GOTHIC FAMILY.

§ 31. The Gothic tribes followed the Celts as early as 680 B.C. The term Gothic is taken from the name of those tribes in the north of Europe that were best known to the Romans. The older writers say that it is derived from the word goth, good or brave. We have high authority for using the term in this wide sense, though there is some inconvenience attending it, inasmuch as it sometimes has also been used instead of Maso-Gothic. The language which the descendants of those tribes spoke was divided into two branches, namely, the TEUTONIC and the SCANDINAVIAN.

THE TEUTONIC BRANCH.

§ 32. This branch of the Gothic family falls into three divisions, namely: 1. The Mœso-Gothic. 2. The High Germanic. 3. The Low Germanic.

THE SCANDINAVIAN BRANCH.

§ 33. The Scandinavian branch comprehends, 1. The language of Iceland. 2. The language of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, with their dialectical differences. 3. The language of the Faroe Islands.

THE SLAVONIC FAMILY.

§ 34. The Slavonic stock of languages was spoken by those emigrating tribes which came out of Asia about 450 B.C., and who were the ancestors of the Russians, Poles, Servians, and Bohemians.

Enumerate the Greek family of languages. Enumerate and describe the Celtic family of languages. Name the two great branches of the Gothic family, with their divisions. Describe the Slavonic family of languages.

THE LITHUANIAN FAMILY.

§ 35. This family was formerly classed with the Slavonic. The researches of Bopp have given it prominence. It is spoken in Lithuania, formerly a part of Poland, but now subject to Russia, by a population which amounts to more than 2,000,000.

CHAPTER III.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CELTIC ELEMENT.

§ 36. THIS element came from a race of people called Celts or Kelts, who were the earliest inhabitants of Great Britain of whom we have any knowledge. They are supposed to have migrated from Asia, probably from the Euxine, earlier than any other race, and, after having taken possession of Spain and Gaul, to have passed thence into Great Britain. It is known that Britain was inhabited before the Trojan war, more than twelve hundred years before the Christian era, as tin was then brought from Britain by the Phoenicians.

Of the Celtic family there are two branches:

I. The Cambrian or Cymric.

Under this division are, 1. The Welsh of Wales; 2. The Cornish of Cornwall; 3. The Armorican of Bas Bretagne.

It is supposed that the old British, the ancient language of Gaul, and the Pictish, were of this branch.

II. The Gaelic.

Under this division are, 1. The Irish Gaelic of Ireland, or the Erse; 2. The Scotch Gaelic of the Highlands of Scotland; 3. The Manx of the Isle of Man.

In all, here are six dialects, the three former of which are the relics of the language of the ancient Britons, and the latter three of that spoken by the inhabitants of Ireland. Of the two branches it is supposed the Gaelic is the oldest.

The greater part of the names of mountains, lakes, and rivers, in both of the British islands, are to this day significant and descriptive only in some Celtic language. The appellation of these vast and permanent parts of Nature are commonly observed to continue as unchanged as themselves. Thus certain names given by the Indians to mountains, Mention the two branches of the To what class of objects in the

Describe the Lithuanian family of languages. Celtic family, and the several divisions of each. British islands are Celtic words applied?

lakes, and rivers, like Alleghany, Huron, Potomac, seem destined to survive, though the race themselves have passed away before the Anglo-Saxon, just as the Celts did in our mother land.

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE LATIN ELEMENT

§ 37. Urged on by curiosity and ambition, Julius Cæsar invaded Britain in the year 55 B.C. Agricola completed the conquest of the island. Pursuing a liberal policy, he seems to have directed all the energies of his mind to civilize and improve the fierce natives. He assisted them to build temples; he inspired them with a love of education; and he persuaded some of their chiefs to study letters. Roman dress, and language, and literature spread among the natives. "Roman law and magistracies were every where established, and British lawyers as well as British ladies have obtained the gyrics of the Roman classics."

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As the Latin language was spoken by those who presided over the civil and military affairs of the country, and by a portion of those who were active in spreading the Christian religion in the island, as Roman colonies were established in different places, and as there was constantly more or less intercourse between Rome and England, we can easily believe that the language of the ancient Britons was somewhat modified by the introduction of Latin words and phrases. Only a few of these remain, and these are somewhat changed. Thus strata is changed to street, colonia into coln, as in Lincoln Lindi colonia; castra into chester and cester, as Winchester, Gloucester, which latter was originally written Gleva Castra. Corinium was called Corinii Castra, then Cyrenceaster, then Cirencester, pronounced Cicester.

Since the battle of Hastings, a great number of Latin words have been introduced, first by monks, and since by learned men, especially terms relating to theology and science in general. Many of them are changed in form, in accordance with Norman analogies, when received through the Norman-French, or with English analogies, when received directly from Roman authors. See § 320. Terms of science introduced into the language frequently remain unchanged in form in both numbers. See § 186.

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ANGLO-SAXON ELEMENT.

§ 38. After holding possession of Britain nearly five hundred years from the time Cæsar first landed on its

Give some account of the introduction of the Latin element into the English language. What class of words were introduced after the Norman Conquest, and what analogies do they follow? Mention the occasion upon which the Saxons came into England, and at what time.

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