268 
The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 
[July 
pronouncing Latin and Greek terms. He showed the extreme difficulty of establishing a 
“ Continental ” or reformed mode, owing to— 
(1.) The fact that the “insular,” or “English,” mode still obtained largely among 
scientific men in England : 
(2.) The anglicization of so many terms, or parts of them, in common speech : 
(3.) The supreme difficulty created by the specific and generic terms based upon 
personal names—English, Scotch, French, German, and so on—all of which 
would have to be pronounced in a Latin, not a national, mode : 
(4.) The fact that there were great inconsistencies in the pronunciation of Latin 
as taught in the different schools in New Zealand : 
(5.) The peculiar English system of stressing or accenting words, which often 
completely delatinized them, even when the correct sound was given to 
every syllable : 
(6.) The fact that the farmer and gardener and other practical men who had 
occasion to use those terms naturally tended to pronounce them in the 
English manner. 
Professor Wall discussed the alternatives, supposing that the difficulties of the 
“Continental” mode proved insuperable, and decided that the “Continental” mode, 
in spite of all disadvantages and drawbacks, was the one that should be aimed at. 
He thought, nevertheless, that a completely phonetic, scientific, and rigidly logical 
system might never be achieved. He recommended the appointment by the New Zea¬ 
land Institute of a committee to draw up a scheme and consider details, and said he 
hoped that the result of the work of such a committee, and of that paper, would be, 
at any rate, an approximation to the logical and scientific rather than to the popular 
and slipshod method which threatened to become dominant in the future. 
Archdeacon H. W. Williams said that he was opposed to some of Professor Wall’s 
arguments. 
Dr. L. Cockayne said that if boys or girls who wished to take up science had to 
learn their own language and a scientific language as well it would be very difficult 
for them. He was radical in most things, but he was a rank conservative on the 
subject of the paper, and preferred the present “go as you please ” system. 
It was decided to recommend that the committee suggested by Professor Wall 
should be appointed. 
A Plea for Greater Simplicity in Biological Language, by C. Chilton. 
Press Notice ( Lyttelton Times). 
Dr. C. Chilton read a paper on “A Plea for Greater Simplicity in Biological 
Language.” He said that there was an increasing tendency for authors of works in all 
departments of biology to invent new terms, usually of Greek or Latin origin, which 
conveyed no meaning to those who had no knowledge of those languages. The generic 
and specific names of plants and animals must be international in currency, and were 
therefore either Greek or Latin. The paper did not refer to them, but dealt with the 
names used for the different parts of animals and plants, the actions performed by 
them, their relationship to one another and to the environment, and for the many 
other phenomena comprised within the study of biology. Many of those were totally 
unnecessary, and their constant use hindered the general usefulness of many of the 
modern works on the physiology of plants, on plant ecology, cytologjq evolution, and 
so on. It was contended that— 
(1.) Those terms were unnecessary, as simple English words could be found to 
express the same thing : 
(2.) They were confusing, many of them sounding and looking alike, though the 
meanings they were intended to convey were totally different : 
(3.) The spelling of many of them was uncertain : 
(4.) They taxed the student’s brain unnecessarily, whole lectures being given up 
simply to explanation of them : 
(5.) By themselves they conveyed no meaning to those who knew no Greek or 
Latin, and they often hindered further inquiry, the name being taken as 
. an explanation of a phenomenon, whereas it was merely a stating of the 
fact of the phenomenon in another way : 
(6.) There being no law of priority with regard to those names, different authors 
could invent different names for the same thing, and several names might 
be in use for the same phenomenon. 
Professor Kirk said that there should be Empire reform, perhaps international 
reform, on the subject. Every New Zealand teacher resented the piling-up of terms. 
There was scarcely a scientific paper from the Old Country that did not contain some 
term New Zealand teachers had not thought it necessary to teach their pupils. He 
would move a motion in favour of reform the following day. 
