EMPIRE LANGUAGES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21144, 30 March 1932, Page 6

EMPIRE LANGUAGES.

SHE CELTIC RENAISSANCE. INFLUENCE OF NATIONALISM. USE OF GAELIC IN IRELAND. by biienain' nnu. The relation of Irish Republicanism, tinder Mr. Enmonn de Valeia's leadership, to the British Empire is a topic of the 'day. There is one aspect of national expression in Ireland —tho way in which tho Irish Gaelic language has been fostered in recent ye.irs —which is possessed of more than ordinary interest to all the divisions of the British commonwealth of nations. Ireland's earnest d&siro to promote Gaelic speech and literature is noteworthy, but it is doubtful whether New •Zealanders, for instance, realise that the trend is not an isolated one. Especially in the past five years, the Nationalists in the Union of South Africa have done their utmost, and with conspicuous success, to further the use of Cape Dutch. Indeed, it is difficult for anyone to enter commerce in South Africa, without a working knowledge of Afrikaans, and, in many of the essentially Boer settlements, there are residents who go to the length of refusing to patronise businesses where the assistants speak only English. Such circumstances as these within tho Empire are strange when the use of spoken English is widening so rapidly in foreign countries and among native peoples. There are, for example, some 50 or 60 different languages in the Solomon Islands, and no single native form of speech in general use. English, although it is more often than not " pidgin," affords the most convenient means of communication between the Solomon Islanders. No Usurpation of English. The promotion of Gaelic in Ireland and Dutch in South Africa should not be regarded as an evidence of antagonism toward things British. It is truer that the two countries ar;i experiencing nationalism to a keen degree, and the encouragement of their languages, in contrast to English as the speech of the Empire, is only to be expected. The trend is not usurpation of English, which must hold a definite place. While South Africa desires to promote [Boer ideals, which are by no means ancient, Ireland's cause is vastly different. Always intensely national, the Irish appear bent on reviving the speech of their forefathers ana producing a literature with the spirit of the age of Ruadvi O'Connor and Finn M'Coul. It ■was so under the administration of Mr. William T. Cosgrave, recently supplanted by Mr. de Valera's party. The Gaelic name for the Irish Free Stato—Saorstat Eireann —is fairly commonly known throughout the Empire, and the Irish love of the title is scarcely more remarkable than the New Zealander's appreciation of Aotearoa as a name for his country. It is less generally known that Mr. Cosgrave possessed the official Celtic name of Lia.ni T. MacCosgair. Members of his Government, Mr. James Fitzgerald Kenney and Mr. John O'Sullivan, .were commonly called Seamus.MacGearailt P Cionnaoith and Sean O'Suilleabhain. Enriching Literature. In several respects, what Ireland is doing is in accordance with the movement now called tho Celtic Renaissance. It has been much in evidence in Scotland and Wales this century. It is a commendable spirit in the Celtic peoples, and British literature as a whole has already been enriched by modern writings which hark back, in their taste, to the centuries When Celtic art was of consequence. The spirit in South Africa is different. (The Dutch population there apparently is averse to having its identity swamped by British colonisation, and is not altogether willing to contribute to the qualities of the British nations in the manner of the Celts. It may rightly be said of tlie Irish, at the same time, that they are anxious for independence where the Scots and the Welsh are not. General use of a language such as [Afrikaans is, of course, entirely different from the normal incorporation of foreign words and erpressions in a form of speech. English is notable in this regard, and South African ■words such as trek, kloof and stoep are readily understandable to all British people. It is here that Canada, New Zealand and Australia are more directly concerned with the speech of British peoples, and the native races of tiie three Dominions have given the English language numbers of new words where they cannot hope to compete with introduced speech. Unless act.ve steps are taken to preserve native speech, the languages of the North American Indian, the New Zealand Maori and the Australian aborigine must eventually perish, or be corrupted irreparably. Colonial Variants of English. While Ireland and South Africa seem likely to possess distinctive languages, tlie other Dominions will be reliant on English, or, at the most, variants of English. Canadian and Australian forms of speech are already characteristic of the countries, but Xew Zealand, except for a sprinkling of Maori words and colonial and American colloquialisms, clings more closely to English standards. It. has frequently been remarked that New Zealand has not borrowed sufficiently from the Maori language. It is surprising that, in a country where a virile native race has mingled more freely with the settlers than has been the position in other colonies, so few Maori words have been brought ii'ito common use. Even the hunted Australian aborigine has given as much to English colonial speech as the superior and respected Maori. The question may be one worthy of research at a future time, when New Zealand attains a position where its national desires—at present at an immature stage—call for distinctions in the speech of the country. there is. indeed, a feeling of regiet that New Zealanders have seen fit to employ the colloquialisms of the I, nited State's and Australia rather than i.se original terms. Tf colloquialisms are necessary in a language. New Zealand could with advantage obtain expressions from polished Maori speech. Development of Dialects. History shows definitely that a nation, once divided, must branch its speech Jnto related dialects. In modern times, a counteracting factor is the ,-ase of communication. but even this circumstance is not likely to overwhelm local tendencies, "here is the example of England, where. County dialects are being retained to a BtHKirig exten-. within a small country. The Polynesian race, however, illustrates the argument perfectly. The navigating population which entered tho Pacific Ocean was spread over many island groups. j n 11, 0 course of centuries tlie flnisions of the race spoke languages which were superficially different, but lufidainen'ally remiincd the same. Tins condit on mav b,. a prediction of what will happen in the lint is!. Empire. ( ircumstancf.s of a widespread common literature and ordered cominunir-af ion will prevent wide vaiiations of English Kpeecfi, hut appears inevit; hie that tlie Dominions will develop a considerable rn. ruber of peculiarities of language. They are to be no:iced at the present time. New Zealand, as a young eounlrv. is not yet fully avarc of the differences and possibly of ils own destinv in this regard.