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LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD

1028

LANNES

year. The prevalent idea that children can master a foreign language more easily at this time than latet accounts for the practice. The presence of a large local foreign population frequently explains the distribution of such instruction. Such study usually begins with oral work, mainly conversation in the foreign language about subjects closely akin to the succeeding reading lesson. Then the reading of the primer follows. Further conversation with the text as the basis follows. Written composition later supplements this oral and reading instruction. Very frequently the composition follows its own set of exercises. It seems preferable so to use the reading and conversational material as to make the written work reenforce the other work. The reading and composition exercises are carefully graded with reference to the size of the new vocabulary to be learned and the grammatical difficulties involved. The place of grammar is in dispute. Some teach no grammar at all. Others teach a great deal of formal grammar. A middle course of developing the essential grammatical principles from the language already acquired by the children is also approved. In the teaching of the reading and writing of German there is a division of belief as to whether or not German script for writing and German print in the reading should be used with elementary children. The general practice favors the use of both from the beginning.

Languages of the World. In speaking of the many languages in use, we must first revert to the period when speech was probably unknown and when, from the necessity of communicating wants and thoughts from one to the other, possibly or actually arose the use of certain sounds and inflections to convey certain meanings. The formation of words and sounds was the basis of the first languages, and from these, the Aryan and Semitic languages, are derived the modern languages. From the roots of these languages were taken the essentials for the formation of new ones as rapidly as people removed to new lands or formed new tribal relations, and it-is safe to-say that most European languages of to-day are in indirect descent from the Aryan. Yet the language to-day used by the greatest number of people, the Chinese, in its many and varied dialects, is as much a mystery as to birth and derivation as it was 1,000 years ago. The parents of the English of to-day are Anglo-Saxon .or Old-English (which was derived from North Germanic) and Latin. The German is the improvement of the old German or Saxon dialects, and is now spoken over as widely a diversified territory as even English. The French language, often called the "polite" language on account of its wealth and beauty of expression, at one time was the language of the courts of Europe and to-day is considered essential to a finished educa-

tion. It would be a difficult task to estimate the number of people using each separate language or to specify the number of languages now in use, as each language of the aboriginal or barbarous tribes of Asia, Africa and the Pacific islands, while only one in itself, has as many dialects as the people have tribes.

The English language with one exception, is first in the number of those who speak it. The Chinese in its various dialects is first, 350,000,000; the English is next, 111,000,-ooo; the Hindu 100,000,000; Russian 80,-000,000; German 75,000,000; French 51,000,-ooo; Italian 33,000,000; Spanish 42,500,000. The English will be the language of the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland, the colonies of South Africa and of the Pacific and of Australia. The extension of all other languages, excepting Spanish, is territorially limited. The latter has large space for increase in the Spanish-American states. Not only has English larger room for territorial expansion, but all the English nations will be maritime powers. This will make it the language of diplomacy as well as of commerce.

Lanier (la'ner'), Sidney, an American poet and critic, was born at Macon, Ga., Feb. 3, 1842. He graduated with honors from Oglethorpe College in 1860, and served in the Confederate army unti) 1865, being imprisoned for five months toward the close of his service. After the war he entered the law in partnership with i his father, but subsequently devoted himself to music and literature. In 1879 ne was appointed a lecturer in English literature at Johns Hopkins University, and was reappointed the following year, but ill-health necessitated his discontinuing active work. Some of his works are The Centennial Ode, The Boys' Froissart, The Boys' King Arthur, The Science of English Verse, The English Novel and Its Development and Complete Poems (published after his death). He died at Lynn, N. C., of consumption, Sept. 7, 1881. See W. H. Ward's Memoir.

Lannes (Ian or l&n), Jean, Duke of Mon= tebello, a French marshal, was born on April n, 1769, at Lectoure, France, the son of a livery stable-keeper. He entered the army in 1792, and, through great bravery in the Italian campaign, became general of brigade in 1796. He won the battle of Mon-tebello (whence his title) on June 9, 1800, and took part at Marengo. He commanded divisions at Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau and

SIDNEY LANIER