At the time when the United States split off from Britain,
there were proposals independence should be linguistically 【M1】________
acknowledged by the use of a different language from that of
Britain. There was even one proposal that Americans should adopt
Hebrew. In the end, like everyone knows, the two countries 【M2】________
adopted the eminently practical and satisfactory solution of
carrying on with the same language as before. For nearly two
hundred years now, they have shown to the world that 【M3】________
independence and national identity can be complete with 【M4】________
sacrificing the enormous mutual advantages of a common
language.
Like religion, language is clearly a powerful unifying and
dividing force. As we have seen, moreover, there is nothing about 【M5】________
language as such that makes linguistic identity conterminous with
national identity. “If he speaks French, he is by no means
necessary a Frenchman.” French is not the private property of 【M6】________
Frenchmen, and still less is English the private property of
Englishmen. Yet many of us still half-consciously feel that anyone 【M7】________
other than an Englishman uses English, we have a special right to
criticise his use because he has been privileged to deal something 【M8】________
which is in the Englishman’s gift. We feel that he must necessarily
look to us for a “standard”, because it is “his” language. 【M9】________
It is high time that such naive notions about English are 【M10】________
firmly stopped. They do not even remotely correspond to linguistic
realities and they can do nothing but harm to the cause of human
relationships and international harmony.
【M1】
proposals∧→that
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