Page images
PDF
EPUB

This triumph of the Saxon over the French or Latin portion of our language may be also illustrated by the well-known fact that, though it is easy enough to compose long sentences in English every word of which shall be Anglo-Saxon, it is impossible to write the shortest proposition, using only Latin or French words, in which an Anglo-Saxon element, or at least grammatical inflection, will not appear. For example:'I rode in the highway betwixt Topcliff upon Swale and Boroughbridge, the way being somewhat trodden. afore by wayfaring men; the fields on both sides were flat, and lay almost yard deep with snow; the night before had been a little frosty, so that the snow was hard.' Here, literally, every word is of Anglo-Saxon origin; and it would be easy to write hundreds of sentences of the same materials, provided that the subject were some ordinary occurrence, and not of a scientific or moral nature.

On the other hand, here is a short sentence in which every word is of Latin origin :-'Avarice produces misery.' Now, notwithstanding the Latin derivation of the words, one letter (the s in 'produces') is sufficient to prove the character of the language to be Teutonic, and not Romanz.1

It cannot, however, be denied, that the Saxon character of our language, both in its words and inflections, is gradually though slowly disappearing. We may take it for granted, that any verb introduced into English will, in future, form its past tense indicative by the addition of d or ed (as, amuse, amused), and not by a change or modification of the vowelsound (as, run, ran)—thus adopting the French rather

See Max Müller's Survey of Languages,' p. 7.

than the Germanic principle. In the same way, all plurals of nouns will, no doubt, for the future be formed by the addition of the letter s (as, page, pages), and not by modifying the internal vowel (as, foot, feet).

Having so far ascertained the proportion which Anglo-Saxon bears to the whole language, it will be now expedient to consider those classes of ideas in which the elements of English are principally found. Here, however, the rule will be seldom without exceptions, as may be readily understood when we consider the mixed nature of the language, the long period during which its elementary parts have been amalgamated, and the various influences that have affected it.

WORDS OF SAXON ORIGIN.

1. Terms expressive of primary ideas and simple objects; as, man, woman, sun, moon, land, sea, sky, star, light, shade, &c.

2. Words denoting degrees of kindred; as, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, &c.1

3. The names of the primary colours: red, black, white, green, brown, blue, yellow.2

4. Names of metals: gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, brass.3

5. The common and simple acts of life: come, go, eat, run, swim, fly, sing, climb, speak, &c.

6. Words denoting parts of the body; as, head, hair,

The French word 'cousin' is an exception.

2 Names of compound colours, as 'purple,' 'orange,' 'lilac,' &c., are derived from other sources.

* Platinum, a later discovery, is a Spanish word.

eye, nose, mouth, arm, limb, back, breast, finger, nail, &c.

7. Names of domestic animals, while living: cat, hound, horse, sheep, cow, steer, ox, calf, goat, swine.1

8. Words denoting the cries of such animals: bark, neigh, bleat, low, &c.

9. Names of simple arts; as, read, write, work, spin, saw, hammer, smite (smith), &c.

10. Terms used in agriculture: till, plough, harrow,

field, acre, hedge, gate, corn, barley, wheat, flail, sickle, spade, dig, &c.

11. The primary passions: love, hate, fear, hope, &c. 12. Words denoting simple religious ideas; as, God, heaven, hell, fiend, wicked, faith, righteous, &c. 13. All pronouns, the verb 'to be' in all its parts, all prepositions and conjunctions, the articles and numerals.

WORDS OF NORMAN-FRENCH ORIGIN.

1. Military terms; as, general, colonel, army, regiment, captain, lieutenant, ensign, corporal, soldier, march, advance, retreat, garrison, &c.

2. Feudal words: chivalry, castle, court, tournament, seneschal, chamberlain, tower, joust, manor, vassal, &c.

3. The various species of animal food (when cooked): beef, mutton, veal, pork, &c.

4. Names of titles: duke, count, viscount, baron, marquis.2

See the dialogue between Gurth and Wamba, in Scott's 'Ivanhoe,' chap. i.

2 Earl, thane, alderman, and sheriff, are Saxon, and were used before the Conquest.

5. Abstract terms in common use; as, ignorance, charity, mercy, experience, clemency, bounty, benevolence, ambition.

6. Terms of law; as, judge, jury, court, examine, prisoner, counsel, advocate, attorney, &c.

WORDS DERIVED FROM GREEK.

Scientific terms; as, arithmetic, botany, calisthenics, deinotherium, etymology, geography, hydrophobia, ichthyology, lithography, metre, nomad, oxygen, paragraph, rheumatism, scheme, telegraph, zoology, &c.

WORDS DERIVED FROM LATIN.1

1. Words expressing mental action; as, reflect, consider, imagine, conclude, meditate, contemplate, deliberate, apprehend, &c.

2. Words expressing strong passion; as, detest, abominate, abhor, desire, terror, consternation, despair, adore, &c.

3. Names of wild animals; as, lion, tiger, elephant, leopard, panther, &c.

WORDS OF ITALIAN ORIGIN.

1. Technical terms in music and painting; as, andante, adagio, presto, chiaro-oscuro.

2. Caricature, carnival, ditto, gazette, gondola, grotto, opera, piazza, portico, stanza, vista, volcano, &c.

1 Many of these, however, are derived from Latin through French.

ARABIC WORDS.

1. Some scientific terms: algebra, almanac, azimuth, zenith, zero.

2. Chemical terms; as, alcohol, alembic, alkali, elixir. 3. Names of some articles of commerce; amber, camphor, coffee, 'cotton, gazelle, giraffe, sofa, sugar, tamarind, &c.

DUTCH WORDS.

Some sea terms; as, sloop, schooner, yacht, boom, skipper, tafferel, &c.

SPANISH WORDS.

Alligator, armada, cargo, cigar, creole, don, duenna, flotilla, grandee, mosquito, mulatto, negro, punctilio, sherry, tornado, verandah, &c.

Of the prevalence of monosyllables in our language we have already taken notice. Whether this should be regarded as an unfavourable point in its character may be very doubtful. At any rate, we should not rashly conclude that the effect produced by an aggregation of monosyllables is harsh or disagreeable. Much will depend on the order in which such words are arranged; and a writer of delicate or cultivated ear will instinctively adopt such an arrangement, even in composing monosyllabic sentences, as will greatly modify, if not wholly destroy, any harshness arising from the nature of his materials. But the English language possesses such copiousness and variety of expression, that no one need ever to be at a loss for terms; and it will be always found possible occasion

« PreviousContinue »