Two is deux, Lat. duo in duel, duet, etc. Hundred is cent, which is seen in century, centenary, cent, etc. League is "lieue," the same word as league. Long, the same word in both languages. So you see that nearly every word is found in your own language. It looks as if this phrase had been chosen because you find all the principal words in your own language, but this is not so. You will see in my book on the French language that this is the first sentence in Voltaire's " History of Charles XII.," and I refer you to it to see how a small portion of the text, which is learned with the greatest facility in a few minutes, can be turned to practical use in acquiring a foreign language rapidly. SUPPLEMENT FOR STUDENTS OF LANGUAGE, ON THE STUDY OF GERMAN, AND THE FRENCH IRREGULAR VERBS. GERMAN. THE usual way of studying foreign languages, viz., to begin with the alphabet and the grammar, is contrary to the nature of the mind, because it begins with unknown details of an unknown thing. The following words, for instance, would be known elements to an intending student of German, even if he had not the slightest knowledge of this language, because they are identical in English and in German. If, instead of learning the pronunciation in the usual way, we take a few of those words which contain all the vowels, e.g., glass, finger, horn, bush, so-they will give to the beginner the key to nearly all the German pronunciation, if he is told that the pronunciation of the letters does not vary in German as it does in English, but remains unaltered; and if we add that the w sounds in German like v, he knows at once how to 116 pronounce the following words, which are identical in both languages: hand, man, wash, west, wild, sand, religion, vio lin, vision, music, rose, hunger, winter, warm, gold. The following are some of those where there is a slight difference in spelling and which are easily recog From these we might pass to such words which have changed still more, or modified their meaning, but which nevertheless are easily discernible, e.g. Not only words, but whole phrases are identical, or nearly so, in both languages. The following will be easily understood, and could be multiplied ad infinitum. Ein Glas Bier trinken. Die Ochsen sind (are) in dem Garten. Ich habe die Fische im Wasser gesehen. Ein Mann kam in den Garten, und sah das Haus in Feuer. Das beste Bier ist das braune. Mein Haus ist gross. * Das Gras im Felde ist grün. Die Sonne scheint. Bring mir ein Glas Wein. Eine Maus ist im Hause. Der Winter ist kalt, der Sommer warm. Der Wind bl st von Norden. Ich will das Land durchwandern und alle meine Freunde Das Gas brennt* nicht gut. Unter König Heinrich dem achten wurde England pro testantisch. Das Vaterland hat brave Söhne. Füllet das Glas mit frischem Wein. In Sturm, Wind und Wetter segeln die Schiffe der Küste zu, erreichen † sie oft nicht, und gehen unter. Ein junges Mädchen kam vom Felde und ging in das Haus des Nachbars, um zu sehen, was ihr Bruder macht. Ich höre den Gesang der Nachtigall am Morgen im Garten. Mein Bett ist gut und warm und mein Keller gross und kühl. Ich will diesen Abend § zu dir kommen. Ich sah in der Ferne || drei Reiter kommen, das Thor stand offen, sie kamen herein, tranken ein Glas Wein, und lachten und tanzten bis zum ¶ Morgen. Hier ist mein Freund, welcher die jungen Engländer sehen will. Diese alte Person wäscht meine Wäsche, sie wäscht besser als die Wäscherin, welche ich vor sechs Jahren hatte, und die mir Wäsche stahl. Die Lerche sitzt im Busch und singt wundervoll. Alle Kapitel und Verse der Bibel sollten alle guten Die Wunder der Natur. * burns. † reach. until, see p. 122. ** Know. went (go). § evening. || distance (far). Scotch, I dinna ken, for I do not know. |