Show n ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LAN LAN- GUAGE THERE has been much much discussion during late years upon the question of an international language The Te increasing increasing increasing ing intercourse between nations and the tendency toward a feeling of brotherhood brotherhood brotherhood brother brother- hood between different peoples has caused much thought upon this subject j Present tendencies must lead ultimately to such an international language And the question arises What language I will it be There have been some efforts to fabricate fabricate fabricate fabri fabri- cate an entirely new language for this purpose the best known result being J the V uk Such SIch efforts however must prove futile at least until the psychic relations of language are a hundredfold hundredfold hun hun- fold dred-fold better und understood than they are at present Every language has its present form from the results of certain causes acting in a definite manner Language is but the outward expression of inward activities activities activities ties thoughts and feelings and will J i J Jj j change as these activities change Word are not mere chance formations CI OT but are the natural expressions of feelings feelings feelings feel feel- ings and ideas Thus all over the globe the m sound has reference to the Ego and almost as widely the u a is associated with the idea of otherness In the Tinne language every sound both consonantal and vowel represents some general idea or elementary force of nature as the idea of it unconsciously permeates these natives natives' minds and every word and phrase can be accurately analyzed accord accordingly If a language is isto isto isto to become becom universal it must be built upon natural principles or it can never be permanent The same causes which have in the past acted would woul act again with similar effects The language besides must fulfill our re requirements in all respects it must be capable of expressing expressing expressing ex ex- pressing the finer thoughts and feelings as well as ordinary thoughts it must be capable of being the medium alike of poet historian statesman and scientist Such a language can be produced only through a course of evolution in which these various vanous capacities have been brought out by natural factors the result being in accord with all the connected connected connected con con- circumstances judged according to these preliminary grounds the language which best fulfills the requirements of an international tongue is the English Having been brought into contact with many many- other languages it has absorbed from them what was fittest and has acquired such wide resources and versatility as to be beby beby beby by far the most excellent in this respect In fact there are but few desirable features of an international language which it does does' not possess Then again English is spoken by a afar afar afar far greater number of people than is any other civilized tongue and it is the national language of the two great nations the United States and Great Britain English already approaches an international language It is now understood all over the globe and the natural course of events will certainly make it what it above all the rest deserves to be |