SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH

Evening Star, Issue 23352, 23 August 1939, Page 16

SIMPLIFIED ENGLISH

SIXTEEN VERBS TO FORM A BASIC LANGUAGE Although English is ’the mother tongue or the administrative language of 600 million people, doubt has arisen in recent years whether it is destined to become the language of the world. The greater fertility of other races and the aggressiveness of their leaders make it appear possible that English may he given unexpectedly severe competition in the race for pre-eminence. On that account and for other reasons, attempts to simplify the English language and make it easier for people of other tongues to acquire a working knowledge of it appear to be desirable. A simplified language, composed of only 850 words and known as Basic English, lias been developed by C. K. Ogden. After many years of trial it lias been given the approval of educationists of high standing. 1. A. Richards, lecturer in English at Cambridge, commended it to the Royal Sovietv of Arts recently in an address in which lie said that the Bible was about to be printed in {lasic English and tiiat the New Testament would he produced in it, separately, next year. Basic English limits the number of verbs to 16, supplemented by auxiliaries ” may ” and “ will.” Mr Richards says, “ 12 of them are verbs of simple bodily or manual action—give, get; take, put; come, go; keep, let; make and say; see and semi. The other four are do, have, he, and seem. With the 12 verbs of action you can demonstrate, as you teach them, the simple meanings of tlie sentences you put them into. You can do tlie act as you say tlie sentence, and, equally or more important, yon can make the learner do the same One of the greatest advantages of tlie limitations of the verbs in Basic is that in teaching you are incessantly using them. All your teaching is exercise in them.” With Basic English it is said to be possible to give a sounder introduction to English in two years than was possible formerly in six years In the United States, with her large number of foreigners, radio corporations are asking for persons who have been trained in the use of Basic English. An organisation for the promotion of tlie simplified language lias its headquarters in Cambridge, with a research station in, the British metropolis,