Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-03-19
Our Talking Criticised.

nfty-One and nfty-Jnfee years.
Our Talking Criticised.
In so great country territorially as
this, with the people the most hetero-
geneous of any that call themselves one
nation, it is inevitable that what passes
for the common language should be con-
siderablv varied in different localities in
deed, there are dialects to all languages
peculiar to certain districts, and again to
certain occupations, but it is scarcely
Unsuitable, on discovering one of these
local peculiarities, tOsspronounce it nee
essary part of the national speech.
Such, however, is the character of the
greater part of an article which has APP
peared in Chambers Journal, purpOrting
to have been written by an Englishman
who has travelled in and studied this
country. The paper is called Omitted
States English" and attempts to be a
criticism of our speech and spelling.
Some of the matters called to notice are
really worth attention for themselves as
current errors, but for the most part the
examples cited are most useful to suggest
the sort of society in which our critic
must have moved, and to provoke a
smile.
First, as regards spelling, he laments
our "leveled" and travelled" from
which he says one a" is left out, and for
which there is no rule, since we write
{" skillful" and "installment" He does
not seem to have learned that "l'' is
always doubled when at the end of that
syllable and accented. Then he more
sensibly condemns theater, which is to
him an inexcusable transportation; and
60. K" as an outgrowth of the error
"Ol Krect" is, he soberly says, in uni
versal use now. He also finds fault with
such spelling as offense for offence
BOSS" is so common an expression
that business houses print it on their
lists, and "How are you, Boss?" is the
favorite salutation. Nobody adds col
umns, but everybody "foots' them. We
do no. say the moon rises at ten," but
the moon "raises" at ten "Quit" is the
substitute for leave, discharge and cease !;
"quite" has any amount of meanings. A
member of Congress said he was travel
ing quite a piece" "Quite some" is
often used to express quantity. Sick is
the only word in America for physical
discomfort There is no unwell or i'll.
Horses are sick with sore backs and chill
dren are sick with the measles. If they
are very sick they are badly off," imply
ing that they are likely to be off before
long.
In England acceptable weather is called
lovely or delightful, bat in America it is
;, a pretty day. and "a pretty morning"
When asked a question the universal
American answer is either chow" or
(which" in case one wants it repeated
Children are taught to call the last letter
of the alphabet zee instead of Zed. People
do not finish but go through things, and
we call a cock fight "rOOster contest, "
rooster being applied only to the males,
while it is an accepted fact that hens roost
as much as the BOOSTERS do. If you want
to say man is brave you will be best I'M
derstood by remarking he " has plenty OF
sand"
In England the removal of house is
often accomplished by pulling it down, y
but in America they {" tare" 1t down, and
so far as the critic knew they both spell
and pronounce the word t-a-r-e." 1t is un-
necessary, perhaps, to tell Americans that
the word if used, should be pronounced
tear. Cit is the term for speedy re-
moval, and everybody says New
Years." instead of "New Years day"
Some persons nave laughed at the En-
glish people for their conduct toward the
letter Oh" This writer, however, thinks
he has always used it correctly,
but more than that he thinks the misuse
in America is much worse than in En-
gland, any way. A New York paper adj
Yertised "a hotel'' for sale Day after
day the advertisement appeared uncOr-
rected, and yet we laugh at England.
That he would have had us advertise AN
'otel" shows how well founded has been
his conviction that he could use :" h"
correctly.
With these criticisms, and passing
sensible allusion to our words muss"
and "fuss," and their too frequent use,
he closes, only giving out, besides, the
information that we like black tea better
than green, but we do not drink. Call
ing il English breakfast tea," we ab-
stain. The gentleman whose friends get
quite sick on pretty day after seeing O..
K. shows at the theater has thus expressed
his opinion regarding them, and he kind
lv remarks that with the amount of En-
glish books that Americans have taken
by piracy they ought to know more of.the
| language.
That we may learn about ourselves by
going away fro II home is at least true in
the negative sense that persons often 60
away from home without learning much
about those whom they visit, and our
English visitor who writes thus soberly
of these yulgarisms is certainly an exem-
plification of the fact.-HGrtord COalra1at.