The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-09-28

He tuOIIllDuS lilCIcuSt III HlAnn III
late years, ard the conspicuous par, il
plays in the conversation Of young men
md women who can lay claim to The
best birth and education, marks the ali
sencc of some Of the instincts which go
to produce brilliant society. Slang is
simply slipping ones thoughts into the
cheapest and most slip-shod ready made
clothing. and instead Of being All eyi-
dence Of Wit or originality, n is somc-
times ignorantly supposed, it is only an
indication Of laziness or n limited COM
mand of language. There is nothing
that more entirely robs conversation of
all freshness and originality than free
indulgence in slang. There is no room
for any individuality Of expression. for
any effort ut appropriateness Of elithet
or business Of opinion; but ali idea
which might be expressed in fifty diff
ferent ways, by different people, is ste
reotyped into some meaningless slang
formula and becomes common property.
It is certainly within the limits Of mod
Grafton to say that ninety girls out of
every hundred would describe every
variety of social pleasure or amusement
by declaring that they had had good
time" or "lovely time," or "beauti-
full time" lawfully nice" and "awfnllv
jolly" are sufficiently indefinite to quail
ify almost any noun in the dictionary,
and are conveniently vague way Of
conveying ones impressions without
requiring that the impressions shall
be closely defined or analysed. and
they dispense with the troublesome
necessity of fitting the words to the
thought which becomes unavoidable if
one is obliged to find ones self in ex-
pressions. Slang phrases constantly
present themselves as the easiest and
most obvious thing to say about peo-
pie, or places, or books, or sensations,
when it would involve some mental
effort to describe them more accurately.
And then such indefinite judgments do
not compromise ones powers Of dis
elimination and cannot be east mp as
an intellectual reproach by people of
more penetrating faculties and incon-
ventionally way of expressing ones
ideas has more positive i'll results than
merely suppressing freshness and
naivette Of style. It exterminates all
dignity and refinement of thought and
speech, and makes a woman not only
commonplace, but common. It makes
girls mind seem a place open to all
comcrs--a court without sanctuary.
This accessibility and "hail-fellow-well-
met air goes far to destroy the dis
tinct, definite charm of q woman's con-
versation. It is not necessary that peo-
pie who speak good English should be
elaborate, or stiff, or pedantic. The
very best and most vigorous En-
glish is made up Of short, SIM
pie words, and idiomatic, natural ex-
pressions, and is rs far removed from
Journalism or affectation as slang itself
The charm of clever, fascinating
woman's conversation, like the charm Of
some of the most beautiful poetry, often
lies more in the manner than in the
matter. A free, facile, graceful use Of
language was one of the most conspicu-
GUS accomplishments of those charming,
elegant women who moulded modern
society in their salons and made con-
versation fine art.
But woman who wishes to acquire
that permanent charm OF conversation
which clever, cultivated woman may
so abundantly possess, should carefully
avoid slang words and phrases. Slang,
it is true, may not seem to interfere
with her immediate success. Her part
ner in the cotillion may not mind it, nor
the man with whom she plays tennis
and dances at Newport, nor the man
who takes her out for moonlight row
at Mount Deseret, as there are men who
profess to like girl with plenty of Ego"
and dash and vivacity;;" but the effect
is not the less deteriorating on society
in general. Youth and prettiness gain
federation for little coarseness and
want Of dignity, but when the youth
and prcttiness go the coarseness and
dignity remain. nnmodified and unjusti-
tied.-The american