LANGUAGE AND RACE. 41't 



as in atheism. Antecedent prepositions, such as in forecast, 

 outspread, overthrow, were also used. German has many 

 prefixes, the original meaning of which has become lost, 

 as in 6eschreiben (to describe), ergriinden (to fathom), zer- 

 fleischen (to lacerate), '?;erkaufen(to sell), etc. 



But in more modern times a deterioration of morphological 

 structure has taken place, especially in Grermanic languages. 

 When the inflectional terminations had become worn down, 

 or wasted, beyond recognition, the mind (as a compensation 

 for the loss of significant affixes) seized on a medium for 

 the definition of meaning, which had before been only casual 

 and incidental, namely, the metamorphosis of vowel-sounds ; 

 as, for example, in icomaM and ivomen, in give and gave. 

 Thus was acquired the use of a significant change of vowel- 

 sounds very like that in the Semitic tongues. It is quite 

 possible that the latter owe their symbolical use of vowels 

 to the same cause ; and if further research should show this 

 was the case, it will be a most important fact. 



Turning now from linguistic details for a time, we find 

 that two inquiries have excited much interest for many 

 years past : (1st) Who were the original speakers of the 

 parent tongue of the Aryan group ? and (2nd) In what part 

 of the world were they when this mother-tongue was used ? 

 This latter inquiry really preceded the former, but its second- 

 ary position at present is due to the recognition of the fact, 

 by all philologists and ethnologists, that language is not 

 a sure guide to race, and that similarity or even practical 

 identity of languages only proves the social contact of the 

 peoples using them at some previous stage of their history ; 

 and it is seen that if the first question can be satisfactorily 

 answered, a reply to the second will have been brought 

 more within the range of probability. 



