The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1909. THE KING'S ENGLISH.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 422, 3 February 1909, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1909. THE KING'S ENGLISH.

Thg loarned members of the University Senate who lately agreed that it was not desirable that bad spelling and bad composition should detract from a student's examination marks in other subjects than English gave evidence that they hold some curious ideas upon the subject. The question was first raised in respect of the matriculation examination papor in history. If a student knows who wonj and when, and how, at Austerlitz and Leipzig, should he be penalised in marks for spelling Austerlitz with a capital "0," and confusing Leipzig, orthographically, with ihe Devil's Loap, or bocauso his own English is in worse rout than the defeated foreigners] Tho Senate seemed to think that such declivities of ignoranco might possibly depreciate the'foothold of historical knowledge, but they dreaded to apply the moral to other 1 subjects. Is it moro important that the student of chemistry should know tho properties of radium, or that ho should bo ablo to express them dearly and intelligibly, so that his knowledge should bo imparted to others, and not lost with the drying up of his own brain cartilage? The average common-senso person would find no difficulty in this question, but some members of the Senate found it puzzling, and the Inspector-General of Schools (Mb. George Hogben) put a question of his own which seems to us remarkably beside the point. "If they were going to mark for incorrect spoiling in history," said Me. Hogben, "should ithey nbt also mark for 1 bad mathematics when incorrect figures appeared in a history or economics paper, without affecting the Correctness otherwise of the- answers V I Surely the reply is that ruathematics and economics:. are, |'confined : subjects, whilo language, and, therefore spelling, ; as the ; medium of intelligibility, of every form of knowledge, are important in all its branches. Mr, Hogben supported/ his argument' by saying that "Chaucer was a great poet, but he; could -not spell,' according to Artemus Ward." The joke is as unjust;ass it is obvious.■:',•■:Ghaucer; : found .'-a spoken language in : a ■ state of flux; and from'-it;made a written language which is easily intelligible, for tho most: part,/to this day. ', ■■.'■• '

: Mb. /Baumb's: suggestion that if the. principle in question were approved English should; bo made a compulsory subject for-, the degree .examinations has great r'eason ', to support it, though :it'- appeared to ; present'itself" to him as a rather novel and . alarming idea.The' claims'of English to that distinction could be defended by much stronger arguments .than those of mathematics) which until quite recently were allowed disoussibmV Tho term "English" might be understood in a broad,sense, implying the fond knowledgo of the "tongue that Shakespeare spake," its depths . and lucidities, its unmatched fitness for sublime and 'daily; uses, and its\gonoral development as shown in the, great writings of the past. The student should also be able to omploy this tongue himself in a humble, but not distressing, mariner. At present the term "English" too often means, in education circles, a smattering of useless Anglo-Saxon, a scaffolding,of parts of spgech,. to bo laid bare and pulled apart with vicious curiosity, a-list of unread books and dates and authors, with- ' • Processor ' Saintsbury's - views thereon—who is Professor Saintsbury 1 —the ohdless Latin names of'harmless "figures of speech,': which never dcoarvod to ba bo branded, and a variety of other useless "information" of-a

superficial kind- tin consoquence, it is a reproach against the University graduate that frequently .he is unable to speak or write his, native language in a way that does not shock the nerves. Tho contemptuous opinion which some members of the Senate seem to hold .for spelling is part of a very common, but highly regrettable, misconception of its value. Words are the real adventurers of the ages, immortal knights, whose histories are fraught with adventure and romance, the story of which is blazoned in their spelling, telling of wonddrful migrations, misunderstandings and alliances, shrewd dints and curious accretions.' Yet members of the; Senate would decree no punishment to those who should .destroy that heraldry.