Newspaper Page Text
THE MAROON TIGER
Page 3
A n — ,
»
\
|
♦
Cyn the o)tuciM of Tfrevich
♦
i
♦
♦
S
By Prof. E. A. Jones
Not infrequently I am asked to enumerate some of
the advantages of the study of foreign languages in
schools and whether the advantages adequately com
pensate the efforts and time that a mastery of such lan
guages demand. I shall attempt herewith to indicate
some of the benefits of knowing a foreign language and
shall leave it to the reader to judge whether there is
in such benefits sufficient compensation for the expen
diture of time and effort.
The greatest benefits derived from the study of a
foreign language are. to be sure, cultural. Foreign
language study, like the study of a number of subjects
in the curricula of our schools, makes a substantial
contribution to the development of that phase of our
personality which enables us to understand and appre
ciate strange lands and peoples and to evaluate prop
erly and respect their traditions and ideals, thereby en
hancing greatly our enjoyment of life and increasing
our general usefulness in society. Napoleon Bonaparte
said once, “He who speaks two languages is worth two
men.” (Selui qui parle deux langues vaut deux
homines.) While the great general was probably think
ing of military worth, his words hold true for other
domains of interest, for every language, with its back
ground of culture and traditions, represents a distinct
sphere of interest, having behind it the history, the liter
ature, and the ideals of the people who have perfected
it as a means of expressing their struggles and triumphs,
their joys and sorrows, their sufferings and aspirations.
In short, language is a key that opens for us a door
which admits us to sympathetic understanding and ap
preciation and removes a barrier that separates us from
other peoples, who, while seeking for many centuries
to interpret and understand the universe of which we
are all a part, have built up civilizations that are pe
culiar to themselves and reflect their personal yearn
ings for progress and for truth. The removal of such
a barrier leads first to interest, then to understanding,
without which we can never hope to cure the world of
its present economic and social ills. It is obvious that
when I speak of knowing a foreign language I do not
limit my meaning to a knowledge of the language only,
but I extend it to include a general acquaintance with
the people who speak that language, with their liter
ature, their history, and with the geography of their
country, for language is not an isolated phenomenon;
it is a part of the people who speak it; its development
is intimately interwoven with that of the people and it
is as much a product of the geographical and historical
background of the country as the people themselves, and
to appreciate it fully, one must go further than the
mechanical stage of speaking, writing, and reading it.
In other words, foreign language study is not an end
within itself; it is a means to a much greater end--un-
derstanding and appreciating other lands, other peo
ples, other cultures. One seems to identify himself un
consciously with the people whom he has arrived at
understanding and appreciating through reading their
literary masterpieces in their own idiom. Not so, how
ever, with translations, for the flavor and freshness, and
frequently a portion of the meaning, are lost in try
ing to convey ideas and sentiments peculiar to a people
in any other languge than that which, like the ideas s-'d
sentiments themselves, belongs to and is native to su h
a people. To appreciate this fact you need only to
imagine our own “melodies” and “spirituals” set to
correct English. Which of us, after reading, in the orig
inal. ore of Hugo’s poems or novels or one of Moliere’s
plays does not feel something in common with the
French people? We no longer sense the national or
racial barriers which separate us; we feel that here is
a masterpiece that, which French in its setting, is uni
versal in its magnitude, and we are a part of it, we
are actors on the same stage. The same may be said
of peoples of other foreign lands, of course. Thus,
in part, we come to know other peoples without ever
sojourning in their lands; thus, it is possible to sit in
one’s own library or living room and communicate di
rectly with the great minds of other lands and other
ages, to feel and soar with them as they express to us
in their own toneue the meditations, the joys, the long
ings and the philosophy which motivate their behavior
and direct their actions. It seems to me that there is
something in that which will greatly expand one’s
general culture and make life immensely more inter
esting to him. It takes him out of the narrow confines
of place and time and makes of him, indeed, a citizen
of the universe.
Besides, there is a practical advantage of knowing a
foreign language. With the ever increasing facilities
for travel abroad and the steady decrease in expense,
it will soon be quite as common to go to Europe as it
is to go to New York, today. And which of us who
have had the pleasure of traveling in foreign lands has
not experienced that satisfaction, joy and sense of wel
come that greets one when he first sets foot upon for
eign soil and realizes that he can understand and make
himself understood to the people about him. We have
the satisfaction of having surmounted that difficulty that
dates from the episode of the Tower of Babel, and,
though in strange lands, are not wholly strangers. Then,
as one speeds over the beautiful fields of Normandy
(supposing that he is in France and has landed at Le
Havre or Cherbourg), he beholds and admires the charm
ing country sides, which, although his physical eyes
have never beheld them before, are not new to him.
He has read descriptions of them in this or that novel,
he has seen photographs of them, and already has a
mental picture of these typical landscapes quite as accu
rate as the one he is actually looking at. Moreover,
he recalls the history of this section of France; he trace.;
its name to the Norsemen; he remembers it as the home
of William, the Conqueror, who, in 1066, defeated the
English at Hastings and carried many French influences
into England. And, if his mind and imagination are
very active, he will, if he can shut out the charm of the
landscape long enough to do so, recall that many French
words entered the English language along with other
French influences, such as: voyage, from the French voy
age; beef from the French boeuf; chamber, from the
French chambre; chase from the French chasse; city,
(Please turn to Page Fifteen)