THE EARLY AGE OF GREECE VOL.I by W.Ridgeway 1901

'
Thus
tfiins
THE HOMERIC DIALECT. 653
who settled on the coast of France gradually abandoned their
national tongue for French, though modifying dialectically
their adopted language. When under the name of Normans
they conquered and settled in England, they again adopted the
language of the conquered, though modifying the English
tongue by many words and phrases brought with them from
Normandy.
But though the same process took place in each case, the
causes were probably different. When the Norsemen settled
in France, they were practically
on the ruins of Roman culture. As
rude unlettered barbarians
'
planted Captive Greece '
took the rude Romans captive, so did the ancient culture attract
and subdue the Northmen.
But when as Normans they settled in England,
the conditions
were reversed. The Normans were in culture of all
kinds far ahead of their Saxon subjects. The cause of their
gradual adoption of the English language was probably due to
the fact that they were simply a ruling caste, each of whom
was isolated from his fellow Normans, and lived
surrounded by
his English-speaking dependents.
Such we have already seen was the case with the Norman
settlers in Ireland.
The same principle probably explains why the Franks after
the concjuest of Gaul adopted the language of the land, merely
adding to it a certain number of Teutonic words, especially
th(jso connected with war and warfare.
The Visigoths in Spain and the Lombards in Italy similarly
abandoned their own Teutonic dialects for those of their
subjfX'ts, but like the N(;rinans and Franks, adding a certain
Tt'Utnnic clcincnt to their ado])tc(l tongue.
I have ah'eady spoken of the Ulster Phuitation in contrast
to the Cromwcllian settlement in Munster. From the time the
English and Scotch settlers wei-e ])lanted in I'lster, the advance
of the Ihii^lish tongue ;nid conseiiueiit decadence of the Irish
has sleadily proceeded.
Now lliese settlers brought- wilh tliem women oC their own
raee and speaking
theii' own language. ( 'oiisei|uent ly their
children grew U]) s|)eakiiig lOnglish as their mothers' tongue.
654 THE HOMERIC DIALECT.
The settlements likewise formed a solid nucleus of Englishspeaking
people who not only served to maintain amongst the
outlying settlers the use of their native language in preference
to that of the natives by whom they were surrounded, but even
acted as a centre for spreading among the natives, with whom
they came into contact, a knowledge of English for purposes of
trade.
Yet even with such a basis the advance of English among
the Irish has been exceedingly slow. In the glens of Antrim,
that county which most resembles in population and industry
the sister island, the Irish language still lingers on. In
Donegal, in Connaught, in Kerry, Cork, and Waterford English
has not succeeded in ousting the native speech, though the
former is the language of the National schools, of the newspaper,
the politician, and of trade. It is doubtful if English
could ever have made such progress, were it not that the
English got control of the towns in all the Irish-speaking
districts, and thus the solidarity of the Irish-speaking mass
was broken up, and seccmdly, that Irish is not the language of
religion, the Mass being in Latin.
In Wales on the contrary not only has Welsh been the
but as the more civilized inhabitants of
language of religion,
the towns have remained Welsii, the native language has
always continued to be regarded as respectable. Moreover in
Wales the gentry were natives proud of their ancient language
and literature, whereas in Ireland the gentry for the last two
centuries consisted almost entirely of English and Scotch
settlers, who regarded with contempt the language of their
dependents. Hence the ancient language became ahnost entirely
confined to the peasantry and in time to speak Iiish
became a mark of vulgarity, from which those who aspired to
a higher social position were anxious to get
though the native Irish have adopted the language
free. But even
of the invader,
the l^^nglish
which they speak
lias been considerably
modiHetl by tlie supplanted Irish'.
tlu' i)e(i))l(' of tlic ]''.nj,'lish Pale, who have not spoken
Irisli for a
loiif^' time, rctaiii the [I'isli medial aspirate, c.;/. tuiuUu'riov t)iuuih>r, ((itcdhnil for
cdthrilnil :
of emlearmeiit. siieli as are used by niotliers and nurses, nn;