branch, of the Teutonic family. (Century Dictionary under the word
'English.')"

In the ninth and eleventh centuries the island was invaded by other
Germanic tribes, directly by way of the North Sea or indirectly by the
Channel from Normandy, and so the language was developed still further
along English, that is Germanic lines. (According to the Century
Dictionary the historical pronunciation of the word is eng'-glish and
not ing'glish).

Low Germans, (Nether Saxons or Platt Deutsch) who have settled in New
York in such large numbers, enjoy a distinct advantage over other
nationalities. In the vernacular of America they discover simply another
dialect of their native tongue. Hence they acquire the new dialect with
little difficulty. The simpler words and expressions of the common
people are almost the same as those which they used on the shores of the
North Sea and the Baltic. For example: _Wo is min Vader?_ Where is my
father? _He is in the Hus._ He is in the house. English and German
sailors from opposite shores of the North Sea, using the simpler words
of their respective languages, have no trouble in making themselves
understood when they meet.

The High Germans learn English more slowly, but they, too, find many
points of contact, not only in the words but also in the grammatical
construction of the language.

In the United States the descendants of Germans number seventeen
millions. They have made no inconsiderable contributions to the sum
total of American civilization. For philological reasons, as we have
seen, no people are more ready than the Germans to adopt English for