Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1865-03-29
The ElySisi Lfa-1l-e.

{ chiliIdl IinrulSt, ueIiNcFt'i an auIFeSS up
on the English Language, an abstract of
which we append hereto;
The lecturer remarked that he should
discuss some matters respecting words
AMI phrases and syntechnical laws which
are in daily use in writing and speaking
After speakin. of the nature of the lam
gIiaee, of the character ami extended use
of our own English language AMI the son
sequen. Importance Of Il correct use Of
the same. the lecturer spoke Of the reia-
tions which the history of the individual
words bear to the social condition of the
people, revealing the manners and cus-
toms of the people in the early history of
the written language more than three
centuries ago As one illustration, Mr..
! Crane cited the fact, that in the times Of
Alfred the Great, it WIS common for noble
/ families to designate their ancestry thro'
their father rs the sword side, through
the mother as the spindle side, the father
accustomed to the profession of arms, and
the mother to the use of the loom and
/ -pind e. Such designations threw flood
of light on the habits and manners Of the
people. Written lanSunge enabled us t.
trace the history Of language back for
centuries, and on this account the lectur-
er condemned all attempts to change the
orthography of words, or to give them a
phonetic character because, as he claim
] 4, loa-, a.,
origin Of words. Taking the word Europe
/ for one Illustration frora the Greek word
| Uros, broad and "Ope space, which
conveyed an idea of its history, while the
| phonetic method which reduced the word
/ to four letters, oblterate1 every vestige
of its or4in; it was no longer an historic
word fresh with fruit bearing, life and
beauty, but only dry AMI barren name
! In the construction of sentences, also,
! there were strong arguments for adherin@
to established forms of expression. Special
reference was made TO such as were called
iiioms, AM positive claims were made for
the proprety Of such phrases the ship
IS building" not being built chad bet
ter not" instead of "wou!d better not ~
" ought carefully consider" instead OF
"ought to-" . In our midst was unrram-
matical, because it did not Indicate the
possession of property 1t was better to
say under my own signature" than ''0rei.
my own signature" 1t was ridiculous to
say Il rode after horse, instead of with
a horse"
Professor Dunn, of Brown University,
followed with a lecture on English Com
position. We abstract:
/ There were three purposes for which
we use language in prose composition
either to instruct, to convince AMI TO per-
! s ladc This matter might hc viewed in
/ its !. "ical and in its rhetorical aspect
/ The choice of subjects was first 30 be con-
~idercd, AMI the speaker gave good reasons
! why the teacher scould choose the sub
iert. This should he cleir an distinct.
and not vagne in chara @tcr, rs "Lihcrtv,
AnI "Pa;riotism" and Time They
should be suited Il SO to the capacities of
the learner. The subject should lie pro
| fitahls and of cotemp0raneous interest -
He (the speaker) had given such subject
! as Naval Superiority" with mott"
/ from Lord Bacon. TO he master of the
seas is an ahrid cement of the monarchy"
1t vas wei to ur-e the pupil to he in
depen len. in his investisa ions, AMI orig
inal, 50 far as may be, trying to have him
express his own thoughts
The Importance OF haying a plan to
start with WIS urged and an effort
should he made To convince the pupil that
the more haste the less speed, and the more
thorough the pl1n the more :apid the pro
.ress
| The lecturer dwelt briefly on the argu-
mentative view of the subject, in whic. it
was the writer's aim to p-ove something
and proceeded to consider the rhetorical
aspect of the subject The Importance of
forming correct sentences, which would
exclude all barbarisms of expressions
not English, all expressions not suitable
10 the circumstances, the context and the
occasion, wa. forcihly ur-ei and when
words are formed in their proper places
then YOU would have we'll constructed sen
tenceS.
Professor Dunn spoke at some lentgh as
to how youths should be instructed to use
words in their proper places, and urged
the Importance of the correct use of Ian
guase by parents in the family, and oi
instruction by teachers with this object in
view, even in the primary schools
In closing the speaker said we -ht to
feel that the power of expressing thought
Is, as it were, the very blossom and fruit
of all other culture. What could Il man
do to be profound in mathematics, to be
familiar with the pages of history, to be a
skiIIful student in the dead languages, il
he knows not how 10 utter his thought tc
..produce and make known to others this
knowledge, in words that are fitting and
proper and true.