The Daily News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1901. TEACHING OF LANGUAGES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 295, 13 December 1901, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1901. TEACHING OF LANGUAGES.

Following on our remarks tho other day in which we referred to the growing feeling in fivour of teaching modern languages instead of orly Latin and Greek, we notice that for the first time on record, the Vienna University has elected as its rector for the year a teacher of English language and literature—namely, Hofrpth Pro feasor Jakob Schippsr. The now rector's inaugural address (says s Standard despatch) was largely devot>d to a comparison between ancient aud modern culture, and he caine to the conclusion that the lion's share in the achievements of modern culture belongs to the Aoglo-Sixon racs. The English language being now spoken by 127,000,000 people, he urged that English and German or French should take the plane of Latin and Greek in education, except for sptcial purposes. In England, he said, though the study of classical languages and mathematics still dominates all university education, the English have already begun to sae that their ignorance of French, and still more of German, costs them i n enormous sum. The recto also alluded to the resolution of an edrcational conference at Berlin in June, 1900, in favour of teaching the English language ; and he recommended that, in Austrian grammar schools, a distinction should be made between pupils who mean to devote themselves to philology or history, and those who la- j tend to follow practical professions; Greek, in the second case, being replaced either by French or English. While we agree that at least one modern language should be . taught, and think German is the one m ist likely to prove us°ful, we da not feel altogether prepared to abandon Latin, whiah is really the foundation of all modern languages. A thorough knowledge of Latin syntax is the preparation for the study of any language, even English, and it is doubtful if it is wim to entirely abandon its teaching.