Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1874-11-19
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SLANGats:n
N sE!Swspssiia ni'HEi6l. 81 tRssnsmsliosunn


sdIalnken smhs tisstt is hss siS g stigsitin or
g, bopzy,s of ANY thing, that pleased ug
Or i, Glory that it; is ss stnnning gPE
90 awf1p igt .conside dered d better word
,.than very, and we, are awful cold, OF,
hot, or ssi6kS Or Jolly, as the acoaise may
be5Jit 80 tRherato say;o you, bet, 3thanito,
answet oj4ueStiun obyuds simple yes; :,
eyeryt hgithat apnpys,ns 10 S INTERNAL,
or esibeastl :" bank bills ara f,SsI g gteen-I
backs no heard a. lady in good ssoeiety
say recently, :sthit her: dressmaker
had dfsapp ted iieetr, ,saand tiiat Ic5HI
.sedn 6tice She Waa iFeRulafly tatfen.,,
we threaten, not to hImiliata Ssst5 mor.
tify o man, but atteatarch out
OF him - We rack our brain to invent
slang words Ion various drinks.
aud bring out such names as ss forty
rod" tangie=foot," Z" rot-gut," "blilel
,gtlinp aud !" Jereegs hghtningip words
that would more than nnzzIan foreignnr.
d man ianot cheased, But a done bfoRn,
;of sbamb6ozledi;p railroad sGonduet0
do not steal Gn fact we are gettihgta,
little sensitive about fnsiheethe word3,
bnt !"knnck tdoWn - hank cashiers do
not swindle and steal, hut commit
"irregdlafities !" we Hear Of d h6tise be,
ing burgled; = and that tt7oo foot pads
event through" belateG traveller "a
fair dealer isl sp6ken9'of asia" square
mani most lwond deyfnl lps,ts, saat,2rse.;; !.
q substantial dinner .is spoken OF las q
'fsqhare meal I" we hear Vihvsi itation8
given, not to- take DRINK, buttoFHhoist
in some poison ;" anything antiquated
or exhausted isssplayedg out" an IT,
significant excuse is, aaid to lbea g too
wash :" we buy stocks on "a oo mar RRin.n.
or sell them |" Short orrftbnHH the
market; or take q flyer" or "seoof,
in a. long line of stookss'srw9 do not
stake, q SUM Of money, but "sbeti our
pile :" after q convivial. party we next
morning find ourselves zsGcpre ecions
lssedy r our railroad ltrains issteies..
COPE" or \" Pullman" breaks wheel !;
"a party Of ofYoWdies ts nlaan aueIa d}ifks
ing, saloon; g big man rthyeatans nsol
wipe out" a little one; We DO not out
wit or circufnv eat u another,i but
tteuchre''s him1; we,H take the shine ont
of" rival, and "fix his flint" for him; !;
q carpenter runs up" d cheap hodsessin
o week an Investigating committee In
congress whitewashes's the characters
OF some default sep3 sand so on and 80
ifoEsh in al ll5a dar,sl
NIT ourselves to use words and phrases
which are of nolauthority, often vulgar
and always needless. Hsfi
It may be objected to the purist that
the spoken language is of no conse.
quenoe so long as we write correctly and
with elegance. But alas that evil com.
munications corrupt good manners is no
more true than that slangy conversation
leads to slip-shod, slangy writing and
it often happens that some detestable
word of no authority, and having no
right in the language, slips from con-
versation into print and usurps place
for itself. Here, again, the modern
newspaper has much to answer for in
the deterioration of language. Slang
usurpsthe place of wit, and a cant phrase
is often made the poor substitute for the
witty repertee. It is untrue to say that
slang is only used by the low and illit-
crate. On the other hand, its use per-
vades all the strata of society, from the
clergyman TO the street beggar, each, of
course, using a slang Of different order,
but both too often indulging In the use
OF words which no dictionary explains.
And just here is something 10 he said.
We. hear every day; in all social circles,
multitude of words and phrases that
have, so to speak, no real existence, and
which must sorely pflzzle a foreigner, as
he turns in vain from one dictionary to
another. He has no authority but usage
and usage is perpetually changing
as to what is lawful English and what is
not; what he can use in polite circles,
and what he must shun, and to this lack
Of authority half his troubles in. learning
to speak English are due. And the Eng
lishman himself, it has been we'll said,
has never done learning his, own Ian
guage. He is overwhelmed by the mul-
titude of new words, and he has no up-
disputed authority to guide him in the
use of old ones !" They manage these
things better in France" The diction-
'ary of the French academy --supplanted
now, perhaps, by Littre's-has been held
to be a model of elegance and propriety
in speaking and writing the French Ian
guage. Every pretender to literary en-
inence models his language upon the
acadomy's dictionary, and the language,
too, has become the language of dipIo-
macy over all Europe and in Russia. A
Russian gentleman's children learn to
speak French as an Indispensable part
of their education. and the acquisition
of such a knowledge as will enable them
to carry on an ordinary conversation is
regarded as n matter Of course. A trav-
eler, if he can speak French, will be
tolerably at home at st. Petersburg,
Constantinople or Berlin in the upper
ranks of society. The French tongue
has gained that high position, not 30
much by it's own inherent merit as by
reason of it's having standard and q
court OF last appeal. AS language it is
not so full or so 'dignifed as German or