The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-09-03 00:00:00

ral TIONSio the ENGLISH 14ANGUAGE.1
raw motet/It MUM* Pakillarnixisal
_ b something Wear nice amsteglibei of the
s' set *WS of meaning In the words of it tentage,
, lgett every one feels, (awl more especlalf, W be en-
ierstands more languages than one) hut which it is
hispossible lo explain. :For initaisc44te wont Moore
hat by some 'been translated toorystioind toy ethers
inamiors, while stela' ntlety toast itaveliseill aware that
bit word but imperfectly eiftesned the idia intended;
both are right, but WI deficient, adthe original bat
an intermediate meshing, or rather- includes both,
with all the hairl-breadth ibis associated between
them. Yet still, though io expressive a word, it can
meter be properly Aiglicised, Ind' we ought rather to
rootent ourselves with our deficiency, than attempt to
graft so heterogeneous and crab-litre a Mixture upon
our stock. The word ennui has lately made more ra-
pid strides among its than its laziness would seem to
eoanteeance (and the fascinating tale which bears its
name has aided the adoption); but how miserable a
figure does it cut in our English uniform! Fashion
prescribes that its Gallic pronunciation shalt be pre-
served; and surely it is eslongh to give an English-
man the repents to ttelit'his jaws to the barbarous at-
tempt at oag-wee. The:trial is ridiculous, and while
for ouf comfort we hart) lassitude, weariness, spleen,
layout', and the blue-devils at command, I should
think our vocabularly is as rich and copious as the
heart of melancholy itself could desire. Some recent
adoptions have highly pleased me, as according well
with the standard of simplicity, and approving them-
selves at the same time to the judgment of the linguist
in their etymology; and such words as telegraph, pa-
norama, and kaleidoscope, will hold a deserved place
in our dictionaries as long as these elegant inventions
shall be known; but never can common sense or Eng-
lish ears be reconciled to the horrid jargon of ayd-de-
catty, sang-froy, bong-tong, shayduo-ver, bong-mo,
et-law, see-de-vaung, rong-do-voo, o-ttire, day-nn—
matey, tray, dag-bu, and such like trash, which is
likely to delude us to infinity. Can a mere English-
man pronounce them; or,. if be could, why must he
ape a knowledge above his conception ? He may man-
gle them till he is, tired, or till the feelings of his
bearers are completely excruciated, but never will ho
fully comprehend their meaning, Or articulate them at
all better than a jack-daw. Letus take one or two in-
stances from these words, as samples for inquiry,
and see if convenience, beauty, or necessity, can offer
any thing in their favour. Bon-mot (good word) will,
by any Frencliman, be . understood as wit well ex-
pressed ; but our witticism gives all the sense, and
a deal more of propriety; for what would be thought
of a counsellor who would offer his services to speak a
Lon-mot for a criminal at the bar ?We have a provin-
cialism which deserves some degree of tenderness and
respect from the extent of its circulation, and for a
still better reason, that it was till lately the standard
pronunciation, and perhaps ought to have been so con-
tinued. NO small degree of ambiguity has crept in
upon us by pronouncing beat, feat, meat, &c. as beet,
feet. meet, &c. It is true, that if the old sound were
continued, assimilating with bait, gait, wait, &c.
some confusion would still remain, but certainly not
so much as would be sacrificed. One of this class
still retains its primitive sound, and if great be allow-
ed to rhyme with strait, solely treat has an equal right
to the privilege. Take then your new-faqgled Anglo-
genic's= ffltft/4111* Will be ibilidlioi a whit behind
the former in absuldfty • ills totally untractable, and
will no more class w Illiglish perspicuity, than a
illi
pig will class with a Vi, or Borulaski with Daniel
Lambert. Pronounce it as you will, and you gain
nothing but a confusion of ideas; call it tray, and it
smells of the butler's pantry, of the japanner's shop ;
'r your bearers are left to guess, if you mean your
dog or a tea-board ; pronounce the terminating t, and
it may then become turtle-soup, lolly pop, or any other
nick-nac in epicurism. And why admit this illegiti-
mate upstart, when our good oldfiwture contains every
tittle of the other's is caning? Feature of the face, of
the mind, of the country, of a book, is as comprehen-
-:... ....deraiuguuS In awn)? respect whatever.
"ft is useless investigating the crowd of gallicisms
That inightbe presented, and ninety-nine in a hundred
of Orin would be found as useless in their application.
Two ui_, tbree examples may be stated to shew the effort
a lanOlge is capable of making to relieve itself from
tifetirsh admixture of foreign intrusion—the word
• ,
orrratodgeon must be acknowledged to be whimsical
and 'grotesque both in appearance and sound; no
let s;t11 of time or literary patronage can make it an
elegant word, though it can hardly be denied to be an
expressive one ; and it harmonizes infinitely better
with us than its original cepor-meekant,(bad-beart.)—
Pl:tenant is another crippled subject, tortured into
submission, and losing what little importance he had
is, military gradation, by merging into unintelligible
vorsense. For a post of honour to be thus turned
in-cs ridicule,. may to some be subject of regret ; but in
the la.nguaziWthe kitchen much precision ought not
t'o be expected--sind blomonge may be as easily coin-
Freliended as 6/axe-manger (white eating.) A few
w0....i-o-oy war of digression, may spew that our trans-
• trarlue neighlonrs Can rival us in similar absurdities.
''hey have adopted .boo•lia-grin for bowling-green;
fosbi ' or roast-beef--and if those alone who are fault-
less4t. e entitled to s Cast the first stone,' we have no
tight to conmience the fray."

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