New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-10-29
AMERICAN SPEECH.
ga FREEMAN ON YANKEE PECULIARITIEs.
. cu.r IN A GRACIOUS vEIN-DIALECTs AND
PRoNUNCIATIoNs.
From Longmen's Magdsine.


Twas 50 we'll treated ia America that 1t really
seemed uuthaukful, almost MnclVli Tor me 10 write
ANYTHING aoout America. Yet, while was there,
was asked over and over again whether meant 20
xrfe n book about America. All thought of witt
mo n book | could honestly disclalm and II was
only gradually that the necessity OF writing some
have elsewhere ventured on the saying, which TO
some may very likely seem paradox, that found
less difference between England and the Unuea
States than find between England and Scotland.
Perhaps am not altogether qualified to Judge as
I have certainly seen more OF the United states
than | have seen Of Scotland. But SO it certainly
struck me: and | Thought saw nne chief reason
for the fact. namely. that English ana American
laws are for the most part the same wh'ie Ehg!isu
and Scottish laws are for the most part dlncrehV
believe that this difference of laws affects many
moro things, much more of daily haDlt, many lloIe
of the common forms of speech. tnah Woulu ~
FIST he thought But, on this ONlng' may POS
sibly be asked whether DO not ind greater IKE
ness between Ireland and either EnSIahn OF
America than find between either of these lands
"a Scotlond In going TO Ireland, as IN gong TO
America We cross the sc1-ceftalhlN much
smaller part Of it-and we then hh1 ourselves III Il
Scotland we keep within our own island, aud yet
find ourselves in Il laud essentially of another law
And il may happen that more superficial likcnesses
between America and Ireland may strke he
British visitor to America pretty soon aIter ms
landing 1t was an American visitor To England
who remark ed believe he dld not comp.an-that
in England he missed the sound OF the Irish accent
And he who lands in America above all II he lands
as most of us do, at New-l ork-yet moro. IL the
with dollars by spending large number OF tnein
on New-YoTk hackney carrage-wlll certainly
remark, whether he welcomes or ho'' lho soHHHu "a
fhr Irish accent at the very beginning Ol DIS so
ionrn But he may perhaps before long come 10
iLink that the presence Of English law III Ireland
and the presence of the IRISH cHbdil CT III America
or alike uhcuoinena which are little abn0ruii,
though they may perhaps have a suhtio cOnueclIOh
,,;tj, ono another Ii NAV he that, II English rule,
and along with it EnRiish law. had never found
their way into Ireland the lrsh capdtlNet "VuII
never have found bis way to NeN1lork, ana
han b. =
,nankind had taken that turn, three countries al
least would be tns happier for It, ANYHOW, the
likeness Of the law between England ana Heahu
doe, not bring with IL the same Niud Oh likeness ne
tween ENGLAND and Ireland which the likeness OF
The law hctws-n England ana America brings with
it. And the reason is plain. In Ireland English
law ana all that comes OF the presence ol l.nSlSh
law is something thoroughly lOte!+n. In America
the presence OF English law, and all that comes OF
The PRESENCE of English law ls something
fhorol,rhly natural and native Inc law Of Ireland
Is like the law Of Eueand because Engshmen con
Onp1cd Ireland aud tCrccd their own law uTon the
pcople of Ireland. The law of America is IKE the
iayv OF England, because EngiiShU-n, freely set
thns i'm the new land 0I America, naturally took
tLeir ,vru la,y with them. But Scotland was never
either conquered ii the same scnse rs Leland nor
settled in the same sense as Auerica; Scotland
therefore,. has never accepted EugiiSh law, but
lceps a wholly distinct law Of her own growth.
MOST "AMEuCANISNIS' GOOD ENGLISH
The difference between Scotland AMI England and
tle difference hptween America ind England are
both. hold, largely OWING to the 20 mat both
America
Tugl Sin than England Itself. This is aovs ala things
true in the matter of language. People talk OF
Americauisns" and Of "ScotticSms,' as if they
CHANGES introduced 'by Americans and Scut>uen
severally into the existing English tongue. Now
do not deny that there 1rr good many Ameli-
r7Disms' and Il few SC0tllcl>MS which really
answer Thar dehnit'on. Bat | maintain thar the
great bass OF both c asses come under quite another
head What people commonly call an American
ism - or " ScotticSm n, Tor the more part, some
nerfcctly good English word on phrase. which ha,
gone ont of IN England, but which has lived on
N America or IN Scotland. To take two ycIy Oh.
Won, instances most people, eel sure, would call
ityH a Scotch word; most people, Ieel sure,
,on'd .all flI IN the SENSE of dHft.nr not indeed
an American word. but an Amer can usa of the
word Ii almost soeus as If they believed that the
use OF the word t0rP IN any sense, aud the use Of
the word taH in that particular sense, was some
thing that the scots and The Americans seyerliiy
had devised of their own hearts and in VIII oh Eng
land never had any share al any time Yet nothing
certain than that Darn II scotch only 80 lar
as it has gone out of use IN England and has lived
Oh in scotland. NeSt-SaNon Alfred talks about his
. haiIlSr while the word would certainly not nave
been understood by any true Scottish Kenneth OF
Malcolm. IGi. in the particular ecnso of autumn,
IS in the like sort, American only 80 far as 1t has
lived IN America wElle II las gone out OF use IN
Finland. That is. if il has gone out Of Use H.
England: for can distinctly remember the phrase.
spring and fail III my childhood. ny scotch
il common talk rs never meant inc VReHc speech OF
the true scots; the wort always means the speech
OF that part of Northern England which came under
the rule OF the Kings Oh lhe true SCOTS. ms Eng
lsh of that district naturally less affected than
Southern English by the Norman and French in
,iurnces of tire eleventh. twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. IL therefore keeps "a crowd of good and
strong English words which have dropped ont Oi
u,e IN Southern English. On the other hand. the
later connection between France and scotland. and
the resp CT shown III scotland 10 the Roman Jaw,
have brought in good many french and Latin
words which are unknown II southern English.
The word American" as appIlcl 10 language.
means. in the mouth OF comparative phiIologeT,
the native languages of the American Continent.
exactly as Scottish" ought to mean the language
of no mig
the English language, as spoken and written III the
United states ! say the United states, because
am not quite sure whether Canada would come IN or
not. Now in tie matter OF language, as in most
other mattcls the CnIied States have followed the
usual law of colonies. COLONY 10 always exposed
to TWO opposite tendencies. when, though opposite
are found not uncOmmony to Work buSIly side by
81 lie. There is Il greater tendency TO stand still,
and there is also greater tendency 10 20 ahead
than there is III the mother country. a colony
which has chance OF going ahead Is Likely to
stand very still indeed, much stiller than an old
country. A small isolated colony. say small
island, is likely to become one Ot the most old
world places to he found. 1t will in many things
keep on the state of things which existed IN the
mother country at The time OF the settlement long
after that state OF things has in the mother COun-
try itself, become thing OF the past. IL has be-
come proverb thar. If you wish to see old France
you must 20 to French Canada. And, for many
things if YOU wish to old England, You must 90
to New England. In the United States the ten
dpncy to 20 ahead has certainly reached as great a
de elopmeut a. in any part of the world; but il
has by means driven out the opposite tendency
To Stdnd FUlll uCCts HOt say thtJ uoUtCtu many
things in which our kiusfok beyond the ocean had
-sometmes, / Thought. tor good sometimes l
thought, for eyil-left us behind. But also
noticed some things i'll " hIch they had-sometimes,
I thought for good, sometimes evil
Jagged behind u.s. There is Il vast deal of con-
sentative feeling, or at least OF conserv atIve habit
at work in the United States at any rate in the older
States There is much about them III speech. IN
manners, in institutions, which has thoroughly
o.d-world character, much that has lived Oh from
the England OF the seventeenth century, much IN
which the circumstances of the settlers called back
into being things far older than the England of the
seventeenth century. When anything that seems
strange to q British visitor in American speech or
American manners Is not quite modern on the face
OF It, 1t is pretty certain 20 he something which was
nnne cnumln 10 the Older and the nnMnr Ennland