New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-11
AMERICAN ENGLISH.

From Paper Iy G. IT, Tucker Of The Country 6etuenIan
We have no dialects in this country, either OF
locality or of caste In regard 70 v9
average American will make hlmsef hearu anu
understood. wherever there is difficulty In nearing,
far better than the average Brit0n-nOt oy virtue
of vocferation, but on account OF ms cLeareI a1
more accurate speech especially IN following more
closely the spelling. This is illustrated by such
words as trait silver and schedule, which are pro-
nounced in this country according to regular
analogy, but have in Great Britain special ana
exceptional pronunciations. IL Is illustrated stIA
more clearly by dozens of geographical names
American spelling differs from British IN one re-
spect Only-its greater simplicity. Illustrations;
Wagon parlour, storey lOf housed pease lplurai
of neal plough draught, shew, cyder, gaol, ana
many other words that have been simpHueu III ILLS
country. =, Mill L.,
American speech changes less than British; ldJ
We have preserved hundreds OF words that nave
gone out OF in Great Britain, and we aVolu tne
such "A totalling" or tOttIng" hpped,
- nayvvr "fadr "randomly," "outlng' and
tund" o. We avoid many recent changes Igcb an
meaning that are accepted by the Engllsn, such az
using traffic" for travel" or passage,
famous" for excellent bargain for " hagge,1,
" rot tor nonsense" jug for pitcher good
form for " IN good taste,n trap" for carriage
" tub " for" battle" starved for frozen, STOP
for stavD assist" for be present" lEt-
mateu for gannounce" etc lcl We refuse 10
follow the British in their arbitrary restriction Oh
the meaning of certain words mus ,r SOuns
person is always a girl in England ne D y
rides in an omnibus, but always urNeS IA q
carriage and though he will say that ne Is cOhuneu
to a sick room or stretched upon q sick pea, he Is
horrihed at the idea of being called SICK. unless
suffering from nausea. ID We do not turn active
and reflective verbs INTO intransltlves. iel we 90
not abbreviate words so much. VI We are hou 81
apt to get in superlluOus words" W nat e,eL are
Won dongw THE infant mortality IS sOm'tmR3
enormous L" don't say but n"Gt TINS WORK mas
got TO be done" 49,, -
American writer's of the first class seem to be, on
the whole rather careful about grammar
than are British. OF course, however, nobody
denies that the language has suffered some pad
treatment here as well as abroad. No less than -FOUR
elaborate lists have appeared of words supposed TO
have been either invented or wrenched ron tnelr
proper meanings IN this country. Among sup
posed to be genuine Americanisms either entirely
omitted or not satisfactorily treated by Bartlett,
the following are mentioned:
Blizzard with some account of the history OF TINS
remarkable word; boom with its probable
etvmoogy) to buck against canallle KIND OF
-four; coral of lobster mot correctly dehned IN any
dictionary dodger handbill; escalan; fair lar
exhibition furore grpsack highwlnes; Institute
IA convention liable, for likely; You mist not "
for You may not; ninepence; pit stone OF a
fruit smrch solid-colOred splth street mud 4;
super of theatre-Bartett says It stands for super
intendent) teuderfOot new arrival from cylllZa-
ton in the Wild regions of the Far West.