Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-12-24
ENGLISH SPEECH.

Last Friday evening Joseph Leggett, Of
San Francisco, delivered lecture before the
Teachers Institute in the Sixth.street Con-
gregational Church, on the essential gram.
mar of English speech. He commended that
such technical terms as noun, pronoun,
verbs, etc., are utterly out of place in use in
the English-spesking school, and be divides
all words into four classes instead of the nine
parts of speech of the grammarians. First,
name words )" second, modifying words :"
third, "sssociating Words" fourth. ICON
Meeting words" English words, said he, un-
dergo but few changes names have only enc
change to distinguish one from more than
one. The whole doctrine of lease" is built
on single change in seven little words, the
so-called pronoun of the grsmmarisns. The
so.cslled possessive case is in fact a modify
ing word. Associsting words undergo one
change in form to denote past time; sill the
other so-called tense, mood, voice and person
have no existence in English. He claims
that in constructing system of real English
syntax he had to follow an untrodden path,
as none of the writers on English grammar
had written anything answering to their own
definition of syntax, and not one of the rules
taught how to construct an English sem
tence. In English the position of q
word is the important consideration. The
art of properly constructing an English sem
tence is the art of placing the words Of
which it is composed, in the positions as
signed to them by the usage of the best writ
ers of the language. The FIRST rule formu-
lated by the speaker is this "Modifers
must be placed as near as possible to the
words they modify. The Importance of this
rule was illustrated by numerous examples
of its violation by standard writers upon lit
erature, law, education, ETC., among which
are the following, taken from the press. This
sentence recently appeared in San Fran
cisco daily, printed in bold headlines "a
fond husband tries to kill his wife uliile
drunk, leaving the reader to infer which per-
son was in liquor. Another paper, in speak
ing of the opening Of a new canning estab-
lishment. smbiguously said The invited
guests drank success to the new venture IN
champagne - and another Informed the pub
lie that " Mr.. Il. had gone down to San
Mateo to dispossess q man who occu-
pied a ranch unlaWfuLly there" and
upon his return he went to d.
Ashs office where General Evans was
generally to be found, for the purpose Of re-
turning the bowie knife" The following
taken from law decisions were given "a
huSJdHU OB marriage acquires an immaculate
and vested interest in his wife's reality" And
the Supreme Court of the United States in
the case of the Belfast, 9TH Wall, 637 decides
that "Torts. or injuries committed on navi-
gable waters Of GIRL nature, are also cog
nizable in the Admiralty Courts"
The speaker gave several other rules for
the proper placing of words, phrases and
clauses in the construction Of English SEN
tences, and illustrated their importance by the
citation of numerous examples. He claimed
that the teaching of these rules would impart
to the pupil the ability TO write and speak
his language with propristy while the study
of the so.called rules of syntsx could not posi-
bly, lead to such result. He asserts that a
child of ordinary capacity will comprehend
this system and could easily verify its cor
rectness by referring to the language which
he reads and hears every day, Language is
the browning glory of man. Without it, bis
Wanting reason would be impotent; its study
ought to be delight, and would be if it were
properly pursued But what wonder is it
that pupils stumbling in the darkness and
falsehood of the grsmmsrisrs, hate grammar,
OF that teachers dread it.