The English Language

by R. G. Latham

CHAPTER II.

THE RELATION OF THE ENGLISH TO THE ANGLO-SAXON, AND THE STAGES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

[§ 174]. The relation of the present English to the Anglo-Saxon is that of a modern language to an ancient one: the words modern and ancient being used in a defined and technical sense.

Let the word smiðum illustrate this. Smiðum, the dative plural of smið, is equivalent in meaning to the English to smiths, or to the Latin fabris. Smiðum however, is a single Anglo-Saxon word (a substantive, and nothing more); whilst its English equivalent is two words i.e., a substantive with the addition of a preposition). The letter s, in smiths shows that the word is plural. The -um, in smiðum, does this and something more. It is the sign of the dative case plural. The -um in smiðum, is the part of a word. The preposition to is a separate word with an independent existence. Smiðum is the radical syllable smið, plus the subordinate inflectional syllable -um, the sign of the dative case. To smiths is the substantive smiths, plus the preposition to, equivalent in power to the sign of a dative case, but different from it in form. As far, then, as the word just quoted is concerned, the Anglo-Saxon differs from the English thus. It expresses a given idea by a modification of the form of the root, whereas the modern English denotes the same idea by the addition of a preposition. The Saxon inflection is superseded by a combination of words.

The part that is played by the preposition with nouns, is played by the auxiliaries (have, be, &c.) with verbs.

The sentences in italics are mere variations of the same general statement. (1.) The earlier the stage of a given

language the greater the amount of its inflectional forms, and the later the stage of a given language, the smaller the amount of them. (2.) As languages become modern they substitute prepositions and auxiliary verbs for cases and tenses. (3.) The amount of inflection is in the inverse proportion to the amount of prepositions and auxiliary verbs. (4.) In the course of time languages drop their inflection and substitute in its stead circumlocutions by means of prepositions, &c. The reverse never takes place. (5.) Given two modes of expression, the one inflectional (smiðum), the other circumlocutional (to smiths), we can state that the first belongs to an early, the second to a late, stage of language.

The present chapter, then, showing the relation of the English to the Anglo-Saxon, shows something more. It exhibits the general relation of a modern to an ancient language. As the English is to the Anglo-Saxon, so are the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian, to the old Norse; so also the Modern High German to the Mœso-Gothic; so the Modern Dutch of Holland to the Old Frisian; so, moreover, amongst the languages of a different stock, are the French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanese and Wallachian to the Latin, and the Romaic to the Ancient Greek.

[§ 175]. Contrasted with the English, but contrasted with it only in those points where the ancient tongue is compared with the modern one, the Anglo-Saxon has the following differences.