Don't forget Richard Carew's *The Excellency of the English Tongue*
(1595/6). He offers many points on which English scores over other
languages - its descriptive and manly expressions, its simple grammar, its
variety of vocabulary and dialect. But it's the varied linguistic
inheritance of English that, far from making a 'Littletons hotchpot' of the
language, is really its making:
"The Italyan is pleasante but without synewes, as to stillye fleeting water;
the French delicate but ouer nice, as a woman scarce daring to open her
lipps for feare of marring her countenance; the Spanish maiesticall, but
fullsome, running to much on the O, and terrible like the deuill in a playe;
the Dutch manlike, but withall very harshe, as one ready at euery worde to
picke a quarrell. Now wee in borrowing from them geue the strength of
Consonantes to the Italyan, the full sounde of words to the French, the
varietye of terminacions to the Spanish, and the mollifieinge of more
vowells to the Dutch; and soe (like bees) gather the honye of their good
properties and leaue the dreggs to themselfes."
Charlie
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