The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-07-24
HOW WE TALK.
The Dialects OF the Various Sections
OF the Union.

81 HOW WE TALK.
The Dialects OF the Various section
| OF the Union.
Let man go to "congress." as we say
and he will soon find that he is amid
variety OF dialects: The house of repre-
Sentatives assemblies its members fror
every portion of the Union, and, althoug
many of the members are sufficiently edit
Gated and travelled to have shed many q
their peculiarities of speech, there will
still be found abundant opportunity +
study our dialects. Many will betra,
their native" as Kentuckians term it, q
the first opening of their lips. 1t ma,
only be cry OF "Order." Or it may u
only an address to the chair, "Mr. Speak
err" or it may only be an alluslon to 9Th,
gentleman from New York." or "the gen
tleman from Virginia"-it is enough. Ii
a causual looking in On the senate,
have heard as characteristics New Eng
landisms as are to be found in ''San
Slick" and as choice specimens of Ten
ported in the pages of "Davy Crockett >
Some years ago it was said that Mr.
Chambers, of Pennsylvania, was so vexed
at the pronunciation given his name by
the clerk of the house that at length he
refused to answer it. The clerk was q
virginian and persisted in calling "Jeems
Chawmbersl Jeems Chawmbers!"
A more important variety of our speech
is that which is of Scotch Irish origin,
The dialect of Pennsylvania il mainly
Scotch-Irish. This is the more remarks-
BILE when we remember that the settlers of
Pennsylvania were largely of the class of
English Quakers, and that subsequently
the Germans have come in almost over
whelming force. From Eastern Pennsyl-
yania the Scotch Irish spread abroad, go
ing up the Cumberland Valley into Vir.
ginia, and crossing the Alleghenies both
in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Their dia
lect Is broadly defined, both against the
people of New York on the north and the
people of old Virginia on the south and
west. No one at all acquainted with the
Scotch Irish dialect would be at loss to
identify the main peculiarities of speech
exhibited in all the region indicated. Penn
sylvanian says 'strenth" and 'lenth" for
strength and length. He says "cannle"
and "hannle' and "bunnle" for candle
and handle and bundle. He says 81 want
out" and u want down" for II want to
get out" and ~ want to get down." He
says he will wait on you when he says
he will wait 'for you" If a person has
had a slight sickness, and has speedily
gotten over it. the Pennsylvania will say
that 'he took SICK" but it was only q
"brash," and he soon got "quite better"
The Pennsylvania often uses ''nor' for
than after a comparative adjective. One
thing is more nor another" or "better
nor another" So ''till" is often substituted
for 'to" in the Pennsylvania dialect The
horse comes till the stable, or a boy till
The sohOolhouse. The word 1intO" is
much used for 'in" in Pennsylvania. A
horse will be said to have white spot
into its forehead, or a field to have a fine
spring of water into it. The Pennsyl.
Vanians use the word whenever" to sig
Nifty as soon as, Thus it will be said
whenever the carriage came, the lady
got In" In Pennsylvania they "lift col.
lection" and "take up q church," and
ride to town ain machine, )" with a horse
beast" drawing the machine. Moreover,
If the horse is a lively animal, what some
call "skittish' he will be called In Penn
sylvania ga wild beast" Now, all these
are evidently of Scotch Irish
origin, and by means of them, and others
like them, we can trace In our country
The movements of the influence of this
element of population. In
tivated among educated people than at
.n0 4NoisA. ~ 10 uOtcwOILuy idCI
hat conversation considered as an
accomplishment, scarcely exists at
al in our Northern States.
one educated person in hundred
IS as skillful and practical talker in gen.
,ral society. This is all the more remark.
able when we remember that the whole
nation is given to public talking. Let
almost any man who In a parlor Is wholly
luiet, OF who speaks only in an awkward
1r embarrassed way, once mount a stump,
md he will harrangue crowd by the
hour. But at the South almost every edu.
lated person of either sex will converse in
mixed company with freedom. tact aud
Conversation is cultivated.
There Is an ambition to excel in it. From
his, no doubt, in part, it has come to pass
hat pronunciation at the South is more
,ld-fashiOned than at the North. Conver-
'ation at the South has given the law to
while at the North we have
ollowed books and have changed the pro
lunciation to suit the spelling. Thus at
he South it Is common, if not universal,
o hear clerk pronounced clark, and James
|eemes, and keer for care. and skeer for
care, regiment and summary for regiment
md seminary. And not only do old-fash-
oned pronuneiatiOns prevail at the South.
,ut also Old-fashiOned phrases and express
IONS
A young man attaining his majority be-
,omes "one-and-twenty" instead of twenty
me. Instead of dining with friend, or
aking tea, they "eat meals victuals" with
linn.
Perhaps a sufficient number of illustra:
ions has been given to the connection of
'ur modes of speech, yet 1t would hardly
nswer to dismiss the subject without some
tn ,sc,,, of fo md
such words as "olearings" and ''dlggins"
md "openings" point out sufficiently the
haracter of the Western country.
There is that, however, in Western Ian
,uage which is yet more significant of
in Western life, Western peO-
lie are much in the habit of using words
n odd and unexpected ways, and of in.
tituting grotesque comparisons, and of in
lulging in picturesque expressions. They
indulge in sort of wild freedom ofspeech
which seems very truly to harmonic with
he freedom of life belonging to a new
country. For example, they prefer to call
whisky 'corn juice" because therein is the
conception OF the "make" Of the article.
md when they go further and call it
chain lightning" they very vividly set
orth the style uf its working. They say
# a man whose pretensions have been ef-
,osed OF who has egregiously failed in
.arrying out his plans, that has "flatted
,ut" Then a man of staunch character is
lot only "there," but further, and especial
y, he is so safe that "he will do to tie
O."
A Western man when travelling. when
le happens to see a church, and desires
o know who is its pastor, will ask the
question, "who runs the concerns" II Is
common everywhere to hear the word
badly" used for smuch" or greatly"
Thus a man caught in shower will say
ne wants an umbrella very BADLY" But
zee the emphasis which the Western man
obtains by little twisting of the express
ion. He says, Il want an umbrella the
worst kind" s~r s.rffae
Yet, if at the same time we study the
lialects of other countries, we shall find
he people of this whole land are one in
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