tion. There is no doubt that these studies, as yet in their infancy, will influence the language in the right direction. Writers who have learnt the history of their own language cannot without injury to themselves, and to the interests of their country, lose sight of the glorious heritage which has been left them by the genius of France.

NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

§ 23. Synthetic and Analytic Languages.*—A language which depends much upon inflexion, and less upon the position of the words, is said to be 'synthetic.' Latin is synthetic. A language which depends little upon inflexions, and much upon the position of words, is said to be analytic.' Modern French is analytic. Old French holds a place between these two, and may be conveniently called semi-synthetic. (§ 3.)

6

That Old French is more analytic than Latin is mainly seen in— 1. The use of the article.

2. The greater use of tense auxiliaries.

3. The greater use of prepositions instead of case endings. 4. The greater use of pronouns with verbs, etc.

That Modern French is more analytic than Old French is mainly seen in

1. The total absence of case endings in substantives and adjectives, and the general use of prepositions.

2. The greater importance of the order of the words in the sentence.

§ 24. Popular and Low Latin. (§ 6.) For a list of Latin words in popular use in classical times and in late Latin, which have left traces in one or more of the Romance languages, see Diez, pp. 5-30, vol. i.

To Popular Latin the term 'low' has been often misapplied. The following extracts will explain the difference :-"L'invasion barbare est l'événement qui consacre d'une façon irrévocable la scission des deux idiomes: le latin vulgaire, maître de la Gaule, et tout près de donner naissance au français; le latin littéraire, incompréhensible au peuple, langue morte confinée désormais dans le domaine des savants et qui n'aura aucune influence sur la formation de nos langues modernes. Par Grégoire de Tours, par Frédégaire, par la renaissance de Charlemagne, par la scholastique du moyen âge, le latin se perpétua dans les usages savants, et retrouva au seizième siècle comme une sorte de resurrection artificielle : il est encore de nos jours la langue de

*On this subject see "Students' English Language," Lectures xvi. and xvii.

l'Eglise catholique, et jusqu'à ces dernières années il était, surtout en Allemagne, la langue des savants. Après l'invasion, sous les Mérovingiens, les fonctionnaires publics, les notaires, le clergé, trop ignorants pour écrire correctement le latin littéraire, méprisant trop le latin vulgaire pour l'employer dans leurs actes, jaloux d'ailleurs d'imiter le beau style des fonctionnaires romains, écrivaient dans " une sorte de jargon véritablement barbare qui n'est point le latin classique, qui n'est pas non plus la langue vulgaire, mais où ces deux éléments sont étrangement amalgamés, la proportion du second croissant en raison directe de l'ignorance du scribe." (Meyer.)

"C'est ce jargon barbare qu'on appelle le bas-latin. Il a été la langue de l'administration française pendant toute la durée du moyen âge, jusqu'en 1539, où François 1er ordonna d'écrire tous les actes en langue française. Le lecteur voit maintenant, et d'une façon nette, la différence du bas-latin et du latin vulgaire ; l'un est la langue naturelle du peuple, l'autre n'est qu'une imitation, grossière et stérile, de la belle langue littéraire romaine. Le latin vulgaire a produit le français, le bas-latin n'a rien produit du tout, et n'a point eu d'influence sur la formation de notre langue. Cette distinction est capitale. A côté du latin classique, du latin vulgaire, du bas-latin (mélange de l'un et de l'autre), il est encore une seconde espèce de bas-latin, postérieure au huitième, même au dixième siècle, je veux dire le latin du moyen âge, reproduction servile du mot français (on en trouvera des exemples dans ce livre); ainsi missaticum avait donné message: les clercs transformèrent message en messagium. C'est là le véritable latin de cuisine (dog-Latin.)" (Brachet.)

$ 25. French Words of Celtic Origin.*

Most Celtic words became Low Latin before they became French.

*The various lists given here and elsewhere make no pretence to completeness. The number omitted is roughly pointed out by the use of etc.; etc., etc.; etc., etc., etc. Much longer ones are given by Brachet : unfortunately they very often disagree with the Dictionary to which they form part of the introduction. They seem to have been hastily compiled after the completion of the Dictionary. For the most part, when a mistake occurs, the list is wrong, the Dictionary right.

§ 26. French Words of Teutonic Origin. Most Teutonic words were brought into France during the great invasions of the fourth and fifth centuries; many were brought in by the Normans in the tenth century; a few established themselves at the time of the Romans. Almost all became Low Latin before they became French.*

*M. Ampère thinks that the sense attached to words borrowed from the German clearly shows the moral rebellion of the Gallo-Romans against the conquerors. Of land (terre), they made lande (sterile land); of buch (livre) bouquin (old book not worth much); of herr (Seigneur) hère (poor, morally helpless man). See also Du Méril, “ Essai philosophique sur la Langue française.' Whilst adopting these German elements, the Romance languages did not suffer in their syntax; for they almost completely overcame the influence of the German grammar. Diez, vol. i. See, however, Du Méril, pp. 343-445.

The following are more modern. They date from about the

sixteenth century till the present day.

§ 27. Earliest Manuscripts in Lingua Romana.-It is not meant (§ 9) that the Romance languages began in 842, for from the moment that a language different from Celtic, and different also from Latin, is acknowledged, the Romance language begins. This new language was already called towards the end of the fourth century by the names of lingua vulgaris, rustica, or romana. But the earliest manuscripts of the language in our possession date from this time, viz. :

I. The Glosses of Reichenau, A.D. 768, in which are found many words of the Latin Vulgate with their Romance equivalents. II. The Oaths of A.D. 842.*

Pro dō amur et p xřian poblo et ñro comun
salvament d'ist di in avant in quant d'
savir et podir me dunat si salvarai eo
cist meon fradre Karlo et in adiudha
et in cadhuna cosa si cũ om p dreit son
fradra salvar dift in o quid il mi altre
si fazet et ab Ludher nul plaid nūquā
prindrai qui meon vol cist meon fradre
Karle in damno sit.

The same without abbreviations: "Pro Deo amur et pro christian poblo et nostro commun salvament d'ist di in avant in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo et in adjudha et in cadhuna cosa si cum om per dreit son fradra salvar dift in o quid il mi altre si fazet et ab Ludher nul plaid nunquam prindrai qui meon vol cist mecn fradre Karle in damno sit."

The origin of the words in the above passage will be seen by comparing it word for word with the following: "Pro Dei amore et pro Christiano populo et nostro communi salvamento de isto die in ab-ante, in quantum Deus sapere et posse mihi donabit sic salvare ego ecc' istum meum fratrem Carolum et in adjutu et in quâque unâ causâ, sic quomodo homo per directum suum fratrem salvare debitus est, in illo quod ille mihi alterum sic faciet; et ab Lothario nullum placitum nunquam prendere habeo, quod mea voluntate ecc' isti meo fratri Carolo in damno sit."

French translation: "Pour l'amour de Dieu et pour le commun salut du peuple chrétien et le nôtre, dorénavant, autant que Dieu m'en donne le savoir et le pouvoir, ainsi je défendrai mon frère Karl que voilà et par aide et en chaque chose, ainsi qu'on a le devoir de défendre son frère, pourvu qu'il me fasse de même; et avec Lothaire jamais je ne prendrai aucun arrangement qui par ma volonté soit au préjudice de mon frère Karl.

§ 28. Dialects and Patois.-When in any country several languages which differ but slightly from each other exist side by side, and are of equal importance, we speak of them as dialects. When one of these, from any cause, becomes alone the literary language of the whole district, the others sink into patois. Till the end of the thirteenth century there were different dialects in France. Since that time there has been one language (French), surrounded by different patois. Similarly in England, till the middle of the fourteenth century there were three dialects-the Southern, Midland, and Northern. To Chaucer's influence we owe the predominance of the Midland dialect, and its use as the literary language. The other dialects still exist as patois.*

*The dialects of France can be studied in Fallot's "Recherches," in Burguy's "Grammaire de la Langue d'Oïl," in Diez's "Grammatik der Romanischen Sprachen;" in the works of Littré, etc. A short and good grammar of the Langue d'Oil has been written by A. Bourguignon; but little is said of the dialects. Brachet, in his "Grammaire Historique," mentions the dialects, but gives few details. In his Dictionary he ignores them entirely. It would seem as if he were gradually becoming of opinion that all the peculiarities of spelling, etc., in our modern language have arisen, not from dialectal differences, but (a) from the influence of the tonic accent, etc., during the spontaneous and natural growth of French, and (b) from the ill-formed words introduced in such numbers when the popular formation ceased. He seems to be overdoing his case, but no doubt there is much truth in his recent views. It must be understood that we find no trace of them in his "Grammaire Historique," but only in works published since. Compare especially "Dictionnaire des Doublets, 1868," with " Supplément," 1871.