The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-04-23
American" English.
Some of Our Common Mispronunciations.
(Chicsgo Times. !


tion who come to this country are very much
surprised by the numerous differences in the
pronunciation of the English language which
they find here. There are slight differences in
spelling; the Old World authors still cling to
"honour" and favour and other similar
forms which with us are obsolete. But the va
riations in photography are incensiderable,
while the differences in orthoepy are really re-
markable. To the thoughtless American who
does not take the time or trouble to consult a
standard authority, it is the foreigner who ap-
pears to be at fault. The truth is that tho 10.
called american" English is without warrant;
the differences between the pronunciation Of
the language in this country and by the edu-
Gated classes of England and the sister island
are literally "Americanisms," and are not ex-
cused, much less authorized, in any first-class
American dictionary.
The mspronuncation of common words is
by no means limited to our cousins in rural
districts, among whom quarto dictionaries are
suspected to be uncommon; many of our favo-
rite and effective public speakers use the Ian
guage abominably, and their audieBces make
no complaint because the prevailing faults are
the English tongue is spoken in which it is so
wofully misusel as in England, the number Of
whose dialects is almost equal to the number
of her shires In many of the mining districts
the conversation of the people is quite unintel-
ligible to the Londoner, and, il printed, would
require glossary. In certain parts of the
highlands of Scotland and in the extreme north
of Ireland the mixture of Gaelic terms with
the colloquial English has produced a singular
combination both quaint aud humorous. But
the educated classes Of the three countries
speak the language with recognized uniform
ity.
Ia the United States we have provinciaisms
peculiar to the various sections and to the ma
tionalities- which predominant in them. The
Pacific English is curiously unlike the New
England English, not merely in its Slang but
in its sober and serious vocabulary. Boston
English is unlike New York English; and Phil
adelphia English is unlike both. In Chicago
we are cosmopolitan; few tongues known in
any part of the globe are unrepresented here,
and we are as untrammelled in our pronuncia-
tion of English as in everything else.
These diversities of language reveal their
own cause. The culture of the country, espec-
tally in its newer parts, is still young and
crude. The struggle for Advancement of mate
rial interests is alI-absorbing. The essentials
of life are considered to the exclusion of the
apparently unessential The mountaineer who
calls to his companion in the valley to "fotch
thaat THAR hoss up yeah knows that his
meaning is perfectly understood. The slang
of all periods and in all regions is amply ex-
pressive until it grows stale; it is quickly sue
ceeded by new forms equally atrocious and
equally descriptive.
There is no letter of the English language
which is more frequently mispronounced than
u. 1t is shortened when it should be long aud
heightened when it should be short. We hear
the drawled sue-perb; but how long the list in
which the vowel is robbed of more than half,
its rights! . in tube is the in use; yet We
hear only "toob." U in pure is the same as
in duty; but the latter is pronounced as If the
u were 90. In tune, allude, aptitude, carica-
ture, conclude, consume, costume, delude, in
clude, induce, deduce, absolute, dissolute, du-
Ell, duly, elusive, erudition, exhume, exude,
flute, revolution, glue, illusive, ingenuity, in
Jroduce, Jupiter, jurst, lucid, lucifer, lucre,
ludicrous, lukewarm, minute (the adjective),
multitude, neutral, nutriment, obtuse, oppor-
tunity, penurious, plume, prelude, premature,
recluse, rectitude, resolution, resume, revenue
avenue, sue, servitude, solution, stupid, sub
due, tulip, tumult, tutor-in all these the u
should be long, as in the word pure. But it is
Americanized into the sound Of 90 in good.
There is no defence for this il any American
standard dictionary.
But If there is general disposition to snub
the u in this category, there is another in which
it gets more than it deserves. In many words
in which u and a are associated, the first of the
partners is awarded the profits Of the firm. 1t
is another Americanism. The place where
clothes are washed is in the "old country" a
laundry, the u being silent; we AmericaniZe
it into lawndry. But the u should not be heard
in the word at all; nor in taunt, launch, vaunt,
jaunty, gauntlet, gaunt, haunt, haunt jaunty,
iaundice, and other similar words. 1t is Amer
ican, too, to pronounce suit as If it were SCOT;
new as If it were moo, dew as il it were doc,
flew as if it were foo, and hue as If it were
just the same thing.
There are numerous Americansms in plac-
ing accent 1t is American to say enervate in
stead of eTervate, precedence instead Of prece-
dence, precedent, the adjective, instead of pre-
cedent, and precedent, the noun instead of pre-
edent. There is no authority except careless
American usage for calling c0nstrue. construe;
there is no such word as the American squalor
the in which should be pronounced as in
way; but the adjectiv is squalid. 1t is Amer
ican to accent the first syllable of vagaries in
stead of the second, and it is purely American
to speak of somebody being isolated; the word
is isolated. Heinous is Americanized out Of
haynus into several other things, while raillery
which should be pronounced "ralery" is turned
into matter of rails. Debris is s-Amerlcanized
into debree, and debut into debe,c; but the ac-
cent should be on the first syllable.
1t is American English to sound the t in Oft
en-, or epistle, or apostle; to call apron apron
it is apurn, as iron is iurn-aud ct for ate, like
like het for hot, is exclusively American. 1t
is American not to pronounce bomb "bum,"
and bombast "bumbast.p and it is only an
Americanism to encase tho dead in q "kaufn."
1t is peculiarly American to Identity one
horse carriage with coop for chickens, and it
is strictly American to turn culinary into cul-
mary. 1t is American to speak of naphtha as
naftha, and it is only in America that we pay
visits of condolence; it is confidence elsewhere;
and only Americans are enthusiastic. Dull
foreigners lengthen the u. "Neralagy' is an
Americanism; in foreign lands they have neu-
ralgia. Formidable and hospitable are Ameri-
canisms.
1t is legitimately American to be 'agin the
Gov'ment," but it is not equally legitimate to
turn history into "histry' and hymeneal into
hynaeneal. 1t is American to speak of the epi-
cureans, who called themselves epicureans;
and since we take finance from the French we
surely should not call it finance. '"rhe un-
speakable Turk" as Mr.. Gladstone described
him is not "gowp but ghoul; and to call it
a "gowl'' in the Raven is calculated to impair
the effect of the birds mysterious and wonder
full behavior. "Idear'' is detestible Ameri-
canism. New England is responsible for that.
1t would be easy to prolong the list. Enough
has already been shown to justify the COM
plant of educated Englishmen that we do not
speak their languarge. If we do not it is not
the fault of our dictionaries.
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