The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-07-10

There perhaps IS nothing marking the Eng
| lish spoken in this country which gives rise
to so much concern AS the asserted prevalence
Of slang; certainly there Is nothing more com
mon than the depreciation Of its use. 1t IS OIL
ten spoken of as the chief danger which threat
ems the English tongue, at least as employed
! by us Most ofus have probably heard or read
assertions to that effect, many of us have pos.
slbly made such assertion ourselves; yet no evl-
dence has ever been brought forward to show
that more slang is produced or used In this
country than in Finland. That what Is pro
duced here is far more racy, varied and vigor-
Gus is PLAIN enough from the appreciation II
meets there But even if it be conceded that
need not be looked upon sa great calamity
Slang forms are important and, indeed, neces
sary IN the Development 0fspeech. Express
ion has always tendency TO become weak in
the literary language, just rs, unfortunately
the individual IN the the process OF becoming
civilized Is too apt to gam gentleness at the
expense of vigor. Less power Is felt in some
way to exist IN the words, and 50 close Is the
relation between the thought and the garment
with which 1t is clothed that the former seems
often to share in the tllmsiness OF the latter.
1t Is this gradual process of weakening which
slang comes IN to counterfeit. The WORD Is
new but the thing is old. Slang is the great
feeder of vigorous expression; Tor IN It's very
nature it is an effort to state more conclsely
and more strongly what the established speech
is felt to say too diti'usivcly and too feebly.
Of course, II is not an unmixel benefit Much
of it is silly; much of 1t Is vulgar; most OF 1t
is worthless; bat from the countless words and
phrases which spring up III communities
where men think and act earnestly the literary
language, with almost infalllble instinct, will
gain something to recruit Its own exhausted
energies and to impart to Its expression addlt-
onal fitness and force. If this view be cor
rect, those WHO are indulging in slang, both
in season and out OF season, should not be look,
ed upon altogether as the nuisances which
they are usually regarded as being. They are
simply performing proper and Indispensable
Office in keeping before the minds of the others
the numerous words and phrases from which
n few are to be selected for perpetuation and
use; ana the disgust with which they some.
times inspire US is due to our imperfect con.
ception Of their true character and Of the true
nature Of the work they perform. Uncon-
acious, and at times apparently imbeclle IN.
strumcnts in the developments of speech, they
are the victims OF a law whose sweep they are
powerless to resist, the martyrs OF cause they
have not the capacity To comprehend; but
were we to be deprived Of the expressions,
Originally slang, which have been brought in
by their painstakng and seisacrlticing efforts,
we should lose many of the most forcible and
necessary, and what seems to us now TO be the
purcst words and phrases Of the English tongue.
Addison deplored and Swift denounced the
use of mod, originally mere colloquial frag-
mcnt of .NObH ruigHS. At tins day, were we to
give up the word we should hardly know how
TO designate the thing-Prof. LouasbUry Of
| Yale in International RtCieW.