the early home of English, when it was a mere dialect of German, spoken by a few tribes. The shaded portions of the map below show the regions of the world in which English is now used. MAP SHOWING THE SPREAD OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. How far English has outstripped other languages may be seen from the following table, which shows the number of people speaking the principal European languages in 1890: 4. Old English Different from Modern English. -The language carried to England by the Anglo Saxons was so unlike the English of to-day that at first glance it seems to be quite a different tongue. Here, for example, is the Lord's Prayer in AngloSaxon, or Old English, with the corresponding modern English words printed underneath : Fæder ūre, þú þe eart on heofenum Si þin nama gehalgod Be thy name hallowed To becume thin rice Arrive thy kingdom Geweorpe pin willa on eorpan, swa swā on heofenum Our daily loaf give us to-day And forgyf us ûre gyltas, swā swā we forgifaþ urum gyltendum And forgive us our debts, so-as we forgive our debtors And ne gelæde pū us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfle And not lead thou us into temptation, but loose us of evil Sōplice. Soothly (Amen). 5. Relation of Old English to Modern English. -Strange-looking as this Old English is, it is the same language as that which we use. The difference between it and modern English is no more to be wondered at than the difference between a young child and the same child when grown to manhood. Some knowledge of how our language has grown and changed is helpful to the study of it as it is to-day. 6. How Our Language has Grown.-When our language was carried to England, it consisted of probably not more than two thousand words; now it contains more than two hundred thousand-a much larger number than any other language. These new words have come into the language in many interesting ways: (1) British Words.-When the Anglo-Saxons settled in England and drove off the Britons, they adopted some British words, just as the Americans have adopted some Indian words. Of these words, adopted from the Britons, examples are: "cradle" and "crock." coat earl. happy ROMAN WALL IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND. Built by the Romans as a defense against native tribes. (2) Latin Words Found in Britain.-For several hundred years before the arrival of the AngloSaxons, England had been in the possession of the Romans. When the Romans withdrew from the island in 410 A. D., they left behind a few Latin words, which were adopted by the Anglo-Saxons. Examples are: "street" (Latin strata via, "paved way"), "mile" (Latin milia passuum, "a thousand paces"), and "wall" (Latin vallum). ANCIENT DANISH BOAT FOR FOURTEEN PAIRS OF OARS. 78 feet long, 10 feet broad. Found in a peat bog in Jutland. (3) Missionary Words.-About the year 600 A. D. Christianity began to be received by the Saxons through Roman missionaries; and with the missionaries came many new words from the Latin. Examples are: "monk" (Latin monachus) and "clerk" (Latin clericus). (4) Danish Words.-Toward the end of the eighth century Norsemen or Danes overran parts of England, and many of their words were adopted by the English. Examples are: "sky" and "ugly." (5) Norman-French Words.-In 1066 William of Normandy conquered England in the great movement known as the Norman Invasion. The Normans, who came from France, spoke NormanFrench, which was for the most part modified Latin. In England they seized the land and all the political power, filled all the offices, and made their language the language of the court, the law, the schools, and the church. We cannot dwell on the particulars of the tremendous change in our language which was wrought by this Norman Invasion. It is enough to say that after three hundred years of contact with Norman-French the English language was very much richer in vocabulary and softer in sound. Of the many hundreds of Norman-French words in our language examples are: "battle," "forest,' duke," and "family." 66 (6) Words from Latin Books.-In the sixteenth century, through the influence of what is called the Revival of Learning, the study of Latin became very popular in England. No one was considered well educated unless he could read Latin; nearly all important books were written in Latin; and Latin words began to appear in English conversation and writing. Since these Latin-English words were learned from books, they closely resembled in spelling the original Latin words. Examples are: "example" (Latin exemplum), “fact” (Latin factum), and "quiet" (Latin quietus). (7) Imported Words.-The descendants of the Anglo-Saxons have always been great travelers and traders; and in their traveling and trading they have collected words from all parts of the world. Examples are: from Spain, "mosquito;" from Italy, "piano;" from Holland, "skate;" from Germany, "zinc;" from Africa, "gorilla;" from |