The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1882-11-09
88tsesua'reons.
SPOKEN ENGLISH.
4 Lecture Delivered BY G. B. Cromsr, Esq,
IN the Hall Of the 2. Il. C. A.,
Oct. II, 1882.

(The following lecture was prepared by
Nj. Cromer for a class Of students in New
berry College in 1880, IN which Institution
he was at that time teaching:)
My purpose is not to display a
critical knowledge of the English
Language; it is not to recite a les,
son, or any number OF lessons in
English Grammar but it is to
point out some abuses of the Lam
guage, and try, by a few simple
suggestions, to arouse in you
spirit ofinquiry. Much more than
! shall say you could learn from
books; but in choosing my subject
j was Influenced by the fear that
you will not search for it in books.
I speak without the aid of authors
bearing directly upon the subject
of this lecture. In saying this !
do not seek to reflect credit upon
myself, but simply to show that
the opinions which follow are
formed from actual intercourse
with men and books. shall speak
of the English Language as l have
seen it and heard it; not as it has
been treated by the grammarian.
You we'll know how desirable 1t
is to be able to speak our own Ian
guage with accuracy, elegance and
force: it is especially desirable oD
the part of college students. Al
though am not inclined to think
with the world, that the college
graduate should be a walking En-
cyclopedia of universal knowledge,
[ do think that his attachments
should be com mensurate to his ad-
vantages, and that be ought to be
able to speak his own language
with at least ordinary correctness.
Many scholars have INDUCED in
extravagant praise Of the beauty
and richness Of our language, CIV
ing as examples, the poems OF
Milton aud the speeches of Burke.
Viewed iu this light, our language
is beautiful; but take the Paradise
Lost to pieces-resolve it into its
elementary parts; then take the a,b,
c's, aud construct heroic poem OF
your own, and you will abate some
what Of your admiration Of the
English Language. The paintings
Of Zeuxis were charming; but
shading and eoloring that gave ex'
preston to their ideal beauty were
common paint. We have to do
with the elements-the characters:
the subtle genius of Milton was
the magic wand at whose touch
the alphabet became a PARADISE
Lost. l am ready to admit, how
ever, that no language, living or
dead, is more remarkable than the
Euglish-for complexity and lr'
regularity.
In childhood we should uncon-
sciously form habit of speaking
correctly were it not almost UNI
versally true that our parents can
not, or do not, speak grammatical
"; that we are placed in the care
of nurses whose wantofa coherent
language is supplied with detest-
able dialect, and that we associate
with persons as little cultivated as
ourselves. At school we must IN
learn much Of what we learned N
esrly childhood; We must learn
that our parents are not intaliloie
we must discard forms ofspeech to
which in infancy we became &C.
customed, and begin a critical
study Of the language which
should be our willing servant. In
childhood, when we should form
such habits of speaking as would
render the study of grammar un-
necessary, our mothers fondly IN
form as that we are ''itsy, bltsy
sings; hail US with ''cootsy' coot'
sy, cootsy'"; implore US to Sn0"