68 APPENDIX. 



relationsllip of the geographical distri- 

 bution of speech was much more violent, 

 at a time when each language was the 

 vernacular of a comparatively limited 

 number of individuals. Thus arose the 

 now observable anomalies in the distri- 

 bution of languages over the earth, par- 

 ticularly in Asia and Europe. 



We assume therefore that languages 

 arose in a very great number ; such as 

 were neighbours resembling each other, 

 although arising independently, and — 

 taking Indo-Germanic or Semitic, say, as 

 the centre — spreading more or less in this 

 or the other direction. Many of these 

 primitive languages now, or perhaps the 

 greater part of them, died out in the 

 course of ages ; owing to this others 

 gradually extended their territory, and the 

 geographical distribution of languages was 

 so much disturbed that it became im- 



