VI THE ARYAN QUESTION 279 



tion of duly accented syllables would be impossible 

 without the nicest co-ordination of the action of 

 the muscles which move these organs ; and such 

 co-ordination depends on the mechanism of certain 

 portions of the nervous system. It is therefore 

 conceivable that the structure of this highly com- 

 plex speaking apparatus should determine a man's 

 linguistic potentiality ; that is to say, should 

 enable him to use a language of one class and not 

 of another. It is further conceivable that a par- 

 ticular linguistic potentiality should be inherited 

 and become as good a race mark as any other. As 

 a matter of fact, it is not proven that the linguis- 

 tic potentialities of all men are the same. It is 

 affirmed, for example, that, in the United States, 

 the enunciation and the timbre of the voice of an 

 American-born negro, however thoroughly he may 

 have learned English, can be readily distinguished 

 from that of a white man. But, even admitting 

 that differences may obtain among the various 

 races of men, to this extent, I do not think that 

 there is any good ground for the supposition that 

 an infant of any race would be unable to learn, 

 and to use with ease, the language of any other 

 race of men among whom it might be brought 

 up. History abundantly proves the transmission 

 of languages from some races to others ; and there 

 is no evidence, that I know of, to show that any 

 race is incapable of substituting a foreign idiom 

 for its native tongue. 



From these considerations it follows that com- 



