PART IV. THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. IMPORTANCE OF PHILOLOGICAL STUDIES. And One 'I know there are some who, when they are invited to enter at all upon the past history of the language, are inclined to make answer: "To what end such studies to us? Why cannot we leave them to a few antiquaries and grammarians? Sufficient to us to know the laws of our present English, to obtain an accurate acquaintance with the language as we now find it, without concerning ourselves with the phases through which it has previously passed." This may sound plausible enough; and I can quite understand a real lover of his native tongue, supposing he had not bestowed much thought upon the subject, arguing in this manner. yet, indeed, such argument proceeds altogether on a mistake. sufficient reason why we should occupy ourselves with the past of our language is, because the present is only intelligible in the light of the past, often of a very remote past indeed. There are anomalies out of number now existing in our language, which the pure logic of grammar is quite incapable of explaining; which nothing but a knowledge of its historic evolutions, and of the disturbing forces which have made themselves felt therein, will ever enable us to explain. Even as, again, unless we possess some knowledge of the past, it is impossible that we can ourselves advance a single step in the unfolding of the latent capabilities of the language, without the danger of some barbarous violation of its very primary laws.'-ARCHBISHOP TRENCH. WE cannot have arrived thus far in the study of 'Our Mother Tongue' without noting that, even now, various dialects are spoken in England. The Greek student will also remember that that Language was divided into three principal and many subordinate varieties. We note, too, the existing tendency (enormously retarded, however, by the universality of books and facility of communication) to form new dialects of English in Ireland and America, etc., and that French, Italian, Spanish, etc., are the children of Latin. Pursuing the course thus indicated, we discover that certain languages may be arranged in groups, as the Romanic, Hellenic, Keltic; these groups in larger groups, as the Kelto-GræcoItalic; and finally in families, as the Aryan, Semitic, and Turanian. 'The Science of Language thus leads us up to that highest summit, from whence we see into the very dawn of man's life upon earth; and where the words which we have heard so often from the days of our childhood-'And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech '-assume a meaning more natural, more intelligible, more convincing than they ever had before.'-Max Muller. The first part of our grouping is materially assisted by History, the last part is due entirely to Comparative Philology, which, however, abundantly repays its historical debts. (See chapter on 'Yes'r, Yes'm.') One great obstacle to progress was the assumption that Hebrew was the original language; and it was not until the latter part of the seventeenth century that the great Leibnitz established the principle that the true method of proceeding was to abandon à priori assumptions, to collect as many facts as possible, and then upon their basis to proceed scientifically by inductive reasoning. From that time many fragmentary and isolated yet valuable truths were arrived at; but it was not until Sir William Jones and others in 1784 undertook the study of Sanscrit, that these feeble and scattered rays were focused. He declared that no philologer could examine Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, Gothic, Keltic, and Persian without believing in their common origin. Since then, German scholars have been most distinguished, and in 1801 Schlegel declared that the languages of India, Persia, and Europe formed one group, to which he gave the name Indo-Germanic [or Aryan]. Bopp's Comparative Grammar (published 1833-52) conclusively established the truth of Schlegel's assertion, and enormous progress has since been made. We finally have concluded that the people speaking this parent tongue were located in the north-west of Hindustan. To this ancestral language the epithet of Aryan has been given by the philologists of Germany. Aryan is a Sanscrit word, and in the later Sanscrit it means noble, or of good family. It was, however, originally a national name. Etymologically, the signification of Arya is one who ploughs or tills. (Compare Lat. arare, and the English ear to plough), and the epithet must have denoted originally an agricultural as distinguished from a nomadic or pastoral people. What sort of People were the Aryans ? Unfortunately, no written literature of this people is extant, but by comparing the common linguistic features of the various members of the group, we have discovered many words and characteristics of the parent of the group. Accordingly, we find that there are about 950 root-words in Sanscrit which appear in European languages. Note the family likeness in the following: Brother Icelandic Bradur Anglo-Saxon Broder Sanscrit. English. English Latin Frater We know that nations in their progress towards civilisation pass through various Periods, such as the Hunting, Pastoral, Agricultural, Trading, and Manufacturing Periods. Now the Sanscrit roots, above referred to, relate chiefly to Agriculture and Pasture, and we find few or none which a Commercial people would require. We conclude, therefore, that the Aryans had fully reached the third period, and had made. some (but little) progress towards the fourth. They had domesticated animals, built houses and ships, constructed roads, learned to plough and even weave, and were acquainted with the use of iron. They recognised chiefs and kings, the dominion of law and custom, the ties of blood, and the bonds of marriage. They also worshipped a Supreme Being under different names, which denoted his varied attributes. Max Müller says:-' It should be observed that most of the terms connected with the chase and warfare differ in each of the Aryan dialects, while words connected with the more peaceful occupations belong generally to the common heirloom of the Aryan language. This will show that all the Aryan nations had led a long life of peace before they separated.' Migrations of the Aryan Race. Induced by domestic necessity or external pressure, wave after wave of settlers proceeded westward; and we can even gather that the Kelts first emigrated, followed closely by the Hellenes, then by the Teutons, and finally by the Sclavs. [The Jews, the Basques of Spain, the Magyars of Hungary, the Esths, the Finns, the Lapps, the Turks, and perhaps the Gipsies, are not of Aryan origin.] STOCKS OF THE ARYAN FAMILY. The following table shows the relation of the leading IndoGermanic Languages :— TABLE OF ARYAN OR INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES. |