Weekly Trinity journal., 1869-05-22
NUMBER 20.
Words and Phrases.

Words and Phrases.
Away and everywhere In civilized countries,
there has prevailed to q greater or less extent
| two partially distinct modes of speech. The one
is the style of the literary arstocracy, the other
of the unlettered commonalty. Just as gold Is
the measure of industrial values, so the former
of these two dialects is the standard by which
correctness OF phraseology and pronunciation
is to be judged. Flowing more or less in the
same channel, or in a muddy stream parable.
with this is that coarse, corrupt form of speech,
which, as much as dress and manners, distin-
guishes ignorant and unciyilized persons from
those who are educated and refined. Another
interesting fact which is coextensive with civil
Zation, is much more prominent among Eu-
ropean than it is among English speaking COM
munites wherever the latter are scattered widely
over the earth. 1t is this-the literary lam
guage, in phrase and accent is every where
pretty nearly the same, while the dialects of the
untaught populace, vary from country to coun-
try, and from district to district, in almost every
possible deviation from the best usage of the
mother tongue.
Although in New England and where New
England institutions have been transplanted,
there may be greater uniformity of speech than
can be found elsewhere in the world, still even
here, something of the upper and lower form Of
expression is clearly perceptible, and seems to
resist obstnately the counteracting influence of
Tree SCuOOlS, newspapers, uuu tuC OtuSi CiC'o-
ting agencies of republican institutions. These
varons groups of this baser strata of English
have one characteristic in common. AS COM
pared with the standard language, they are all
more antiquated in pronunciation and more
Saxon in idiom. The wind blows "right peert"
! (pert) over the heads of the poor whites of Vir-
| ginia to-day, just it blew across the Avon in
Shakspeare's times. In the rural districts of
New England shousen" are still built and
things are still "hove," "hefted," or
g sarched,' (searched) for, as they were in tho
mother country two hundred years ago. From
England, British India, Southern Africa, Aus
tralia, Canada, Vermont, Virginia, &C., nnumer-
able specimens of this low English might be col
lected together; but large volume would be
required to exhibit and explain them The very
few of them admitting of notice at the present
time will be the more interesting if taken from
our own immediate neighborhood.
" Had ought" and hadn't ought" These
two grammatical weeds always survive our free
schools cultivation, and sometimes grow thrifty
in the best New England colleges
In England, hens " sit " = always; but
throughout the United States, not only the sun
and moon, but all the feminine featberhood
"set." 1t would seem as if no amount of teach
irg will ever make American children adopt the
correct word.
"To feel like" eating, &C., is assuredly most
extraordinary sensation. man may feel sick
or like culprit, but that be should feel like
action, is quite incomprehensible.
" Was" for is He said for example, that
God was (is) love. Half the editors of the
United States manifest their contempt for gram
mar in this way.
"Sold at auction" auction is not the place
or time, but the of sale. The Boston
Adcertiser and few other papers use the correct
expression sold by auction, or by private sale
Quite, for very, is wrongly employed both in
England and America. As quite means COM
pletely or entirely, it would be interesting to
-, tau ht,t tba nh
"qute a number
School boys play what they call " high spy"
This should be "I spy as is obvious from the
nature oc the game A genuine Yankee never
troubles himself to sound but three letters in
the word horse. Some of his cockney cousins
make two answers-thus, os but well edu-
Gated Englishwoman pronounces the word al
most in two syllabes, horse, enunciating dis
tincty every letter but the last.
| "Ugly" and " clever are generally misap-
piled all over New England. Many persons in
this vicinity would perhaps hardly understand
that an ugly horse may be very good-natured,
and that clever man may be extremely mean
and wicked.
"Lie'' and I" lay " are extensively misused in
the vulgar dialect. "Now l lay me down."
&C., as in the child's prayer, is all right; but
to say i" be lays down. instead of % he lies
down." is as bad as if hen should lie an egg.
! Again the phrase, @ he lies" may contain two
totally distinct ideas, thus
"I cannot stand or st' yon beggar cries;
But If he tells the truth he surely lies.
q female human of consolidating bur-
led her husband, must either get another or sub
nit to be called I" widow woman" during the
the remainder of her life. Some of the Irish
even 60 step further, designating an unfortu-
nate brother as wildly man."
Yankee butchers sell fore-shoulders' of
mutton, &C.; but hind-shoulders are never of.
| fered for sale.
In the best English society it would not be
deemed indicate to say that lady's leg was
broken. Ir America only men have legs wo-
men have limbs.
Vulgar Yankeeism abounds in ups and dorns
! When it is all up with man, he looks
" down in the mouth" Trees GO cut down"
and " cut up' for fuel. Purchasers who do not
"pay down. expected to "pay up'' at fu-
ture time, &c. A Vermont militia captain, gave
the order to one of his men" Hold up your
gun upl'
How you ont Cor money ~ &c. This is
a very curious vulgarism, and may possibly
claim descent from the i' Comment Is cts vous?''
of the Norman-French, who, in BY gone centu-
ries, tyranized over England.
But these few draughts from the muddy we'll
of defled English must suffice for the present.
If the reader is thirsty for more, he may be sure
the supply is deplorably abundant and always
close at hand-sometimes, perhaps, very near to