THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2242, 2 October 1889, Page 2

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

The Lord's Prayer consists of sixty words, and of these only six (trespasses, trespass, temptation, deliver, power, and glory) ace of Latin origin, and the place of most, if not all of theso, conld easily be -upplied by words of Saxon o -igin. And of 43 words m 'ha firat tiree vereea of 23rd Psalm, only three (pasture, oomfort, and restorcth or o >nvert)are from the Latin, »nd for every one of theije it would be oasy to substitute an equally expressive word from the Saxon. And m five versus In Genesis, nut of 130 words, all but five aro of Saxon origin ; and m five verann from the Gospel of St, John, cut of 72 words all bat two tta Saxon. The AngloSaxon is not so mao'i one elomont of the XSDgllsh iaoguftge «c Us very foundation or basis. Try to compose a sentenoa of but ton words of only Latin derivation, and It will ba found dlffioalt, If not Impossible, to do it ; while, on the other h»nd, If we exoupt tho topics of theology, phylosophy, oto i whole pages might be written on almost any mibjeot, especially on maltsra parfalnlng to common every d«y Ufp, eve'y word of whloh might be of Soxon origin, without the least appersnoo of awkwardn(»/in <.f t ffoeinln tho ezprQßaion. —Prom " The Qalver."