EUROPEAN LANGUAGES. 65 



from the French Galles, of the same origin as Gaelic ; which some 

 derive from the German wallen, to wander. The Irish, was a written 

 language, probably as early as the 10th century ; and is said to resem- 

 ble the Gaelic so much, that the Irish and the Scotch Highlanders can 

 converse with each other, and be mutually understood. The Manks, 

 (or Manx) dialect, spoken on the Isle of Man, is similar to the Irish. 

 The Armoric or Cimbric language, is the old Celtic, with a mixture 

 of the German ; and is still spoken in Brittany ; that is, the north-west 

 part of France. The Cornish, or dialect of Cornwall, in England, 

 is a corruption of the Armoric. 



As a specimen of the Celtic languages, the following copy of the 

 Lord's Prayer in Welch, is deemed worthy of insertion. Em Tad, 

 yr hwn wyt yh y nefoedd, sancteiddier dy enw: deled dy deyrnas: gwn- 

 eler dy ewyllys, megis yn y nef, felly ar y ddaear hefyd ; dyro i ni hed- 

 dyw ein bar a beunyddiol; a madden i ni tin dyledion, fel y madr 

 deuwn ninnau ?n dyledwyr ; ac nac arwain ni i brofedigaeth ; eithr 

 gwared ni rhag drwg : canys eiddot ti yw y deyrnas, a>r nerth, a V 

 gogoniant, yn oes oesoedd. Jlmen. 



4. The Sclavonic family of languages, includes the Polish, Rus- 

 sian, Bohemian, Illyrian, and Croatian ; all of which may be traced 

 to the ancient Sarmatians, since called Sclavonians ; who migrated 

 from Asia, at a later period than the Germans. Their language is said 

 to have been derived from the Sanscrit : and to have affinities with the 

 Greek and German. The Polish language, has been less cultivated, 

 on account of the former prevalence of the Latin, among the clergy 

 and nobles of Poland ; but it is respectable in regard to literature. It 

 is hard and harsh to pronounce ; and is properly written in a peculiar 

 character. The Poles pronounce c like our ts ; ch guttural like the 

 German ; cz like our ch in charm ; sz like our sh: szcz like shch ; 

 rz like zh or s in pleasure ; g always hard ; j like our y : and w like 

 our v. 



The Russian language, comprises several dialects ; and is spoken, 

 from Poland, eastward to the Pacific Ocean. It resembles the Polish ; 

 but has a mixture of Greek, Swedish, and Tartar words, with the 

 Sclavonic. Its alphabet was introduced by Cyril, and improved by 

 Kopiewitsch ; and now contains 36 letters. It is pronounced like 

 the Polish. The oldest known writing in Russian, is Oleg's Treaty, 

 dated 912 ; but Lomonosoff first adapted the language to poetry, by 

 assimilating it to the German ; about A. D. 1742. The old Sclavonic 

 language, has been preserved by the translation of the Bible ; and is 

 still employed in sermons ; though differing considerably from the 

 Russian. The Crotian and Illyrian languages resemble the Russian ; 

 as the Bohemian does the Polish. 



As a specimen of the Sclavonic languages, we here insert the Lord's 

 Prayer in Russian ; using the Roman characters. 



Otshe nash, eje esi na nebesach ; da svyaiitsya imya tvoye da prie- 

 det tzarstvye tvoe : da boodet volya tvoya, yako na nebese ee na zemle 

 chleb nash nasooshnie dajd nam dnes : ee ostave nam dolge nasha yakoje 

 ee me ostavlyaem doljneekom nashim : ee ne vovede nas vo iskooshe- 

 nie no eezbave nas ot loocavago : yako tvoe est tzartzvo, ee sland vo 

 vekee vehor. 



9 F2 



