Many authors, especially those who dabble with statistics, use the words “native language.” On consulting the Century Dictionary, under the head “Native,” I find the following definitions: “3. Of or pertaining to one by birth, or the place or circumstance of one’s birth; as, native land, native language. 4. Of indigenous origin or growth; not exotic or of foreign origin or production.” Now, will you kindly explain the native language of a person born in Switzerland, where it is stated that in one canton the language used is Italian, in another German, and in still another French? Likewise of Alsace-Lorraine, which at one time is a part of France and at another time is an integral portion of Germany? Then, let us take Brazil. A person born in that country is called a Brazilian, yet speaks the Portuguese tongue. Colonization, also, leads to a strange condition of affairs. When this country was settled there were several languages, yet English became the predominant one. Still, if I am not mistaken, English is not of indigenous origin or growth here. While I am well aware that the words have been used by some of the best writers, I am still of the opinion that it is not strictly correct, and that some other expression might be used. As an example, I will state that I saw recently a case where it was printed that a child was born in Canada of Italian parents and that he could read and write his native language. What is his native language?
One’s native language is that to which he is born—that is, it is the one he acquires most naturally, being, of course, his parents’ native speech, wherever he may be born. Dictionaries can not multiply definitions for every possible mutation of human affairs. The definitions quoted are absolutely right, even if various languages are spoken in one country. An Italian Swiss’s native language is Italian; in Alsace-Lorraine the native language of some of the people is German, and that of others is French; in Brazil the native language of natives is Portuguese. The second definition quoted has no connection with languages, except that of the kind shown in saying that “the native languages of America are the Indian languages”; it is not intended for the case in question. Our native language is English, not primarily through the place of our birth, but because of the circumstance that we are born to that language, born of parents who use it and from whom we instinctively acquire it. In the last case noted—the child born in Canada—the native language is Italian. No reasonable objection to the expression seems possible.
Would you say, “About one person in ten doesn’t know that their neighbors are saving money,” or do you think “his neighbors” better?
“His” is decidedly better. It is never right to use a singular noun and a plural pronoun, or any other disagreement in number. It seems advisable in a case like that of the question here to say “About one man in ten,” etc., because it is a business matter, and presumably men are principally concerned. However, if generalizing by the noun “person” is preferred, that need not lead to the real grammatical error of using a plural pronoun. Of course a person may not be masculine, and that is why so many people make the error in number—to avoid supposed conflict in gender. But “man” is sufficiently generic to include all mankind, and the fact of its being masculine in gender, and demanding a masculine pronoun, need not be considered an insuperable objection to its use in the inclusive sense. All readers would know that the mere matter of general expression did not exclude women and children from business dealings. Changing “man” to “person,” though, still leaves the masculine pronoun good, for grammar demands agreement in number, and it has been custom from time immemorial to use in such cases the word that denotes the supposedly stronger sex. Thus we should say, “The animal draws his load better under certain conditions,” in a general sense by no means precluding the female animal from consideration; and why not “the person” also? We are the more willing to discuss this matter now because of a recent revival of the silliness that would have us use the ridiculous word “thon,” meaning “that one,” in such cases. Here is the latest outcropping of this nonsense: “We are prone to prefer the new words to the old, and many men and women find a pleasure in introducing a word not familiar to the average individual. Such a word is ‘thon,’ a contraction of ‘that one,’ proposed in 1858 by Charles Crozat Converse, of Erie, Pennsylvania, as a substitute for the clumsy combinations ‘he or she,’ ‘him or her,’ etc., as in the sentence, ‘The child must be taught to study thon’s lesson.’ The word is so convenient that it is a wonder that it remains new to most people. The want of it caused the United States Supreme Court once upon a time to render a decision that ‘his’ in a law should be construed ‘his or her,’ so that women might be as amenable to the law as the male lawmakers themselves. This ruling allows writers of laws to avoid the use of ‘his or her,’ etc., every time a personal pronoun has to be used. But in every-day use the ruling of the courts does not count, and we need to use ‘thon’ every day of our lives.” It was not the want of any such abominable formation as “thon” that led to the court decision, but that decision merely fixed in law what had always been a real principle in language. With correct understanding of language facts, no one ever need say “his or her,” for “his” alone is really sufficient. The abomination “thon” remains new to most people because there is absolutely no need of it.
FORM OF WORDS.
Is it possible to construct the following sentence so as to give three distinct and separate meanings without changing the wording? The sentence is, “Twenty two dollar bills weigh as much as a silver dollar.”
Yes. Twenty-two dollar bills, twenty two-dollar bills, and twenty-two-dollar bills (though there is no bill issued for $22).