JULY — SEPT. 1857.] The Study of Licing Languages, 231 
book at all. To the beginner such book words, as he cannot dis- 
tinguish them from others, are nothing but a serious hindrance 
to him. 
Bishop Heber remarks that to make himself intelligible to the 
great mass of his hearers who were uneducated persons, he used 
to find it advisable to confine himself as far as possible to words 
of Saxon- derivation, that is, to words commonly used in conversa- 
tion. If such a precaution were necessary in England, how much 
more in semi-civilized countries. 
Can there be any question but that by a system of study based 
upon these principles, by far the largest part of the time usually 
spent upon acquiring a colloquial use of a foreign language may 
be saved. Look at the progress a child makes in a really useful 
knowledge of a language, whether his first, or one picked up after- 
wards, from being associated with those who speak it, with such 
extremely small powers of mind, without any efi"ort, and without 
any materials. Can it be supposed that an adult with such enor- 
mous advantages, with properly prepared materials, and with dili- 
gent study could not make iiSuch more rapid progress, if he pur- 
sued a right system. 
The system that I would now propose, founded on these princi- 
ples, is as follows ; 
1st. The language is to be learnt through the medium of the 
English character. 
The object of this is to get rid of any thing which is not abso- 
lutely necessary to be learnt at first. 
It may be said that it takes a very little time to learn the Na- 
tive character ; and so it does to learn it in a certain way, that is, 
so that by fixing the thoughts upon a letter and taking a little 
time for consideration, it may be recollected to represent a certain 
sound, but it will be a long time before the character is so fami- 
liar as not to occupy the attention most seriously, and Tliat at the 
time when there is the greatest demand upon it. But not only is 
a known character preferable at first on this account, but it is also 
superior as a medium to the Native character, as being less liable 
to lead to mistakes. In an Indian language for instance, in which 
