Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-06-01
rEsE VULGAR TOSGtE
The sins OF Jowrnnlist. and woimsn

rHtumiue 81. James Gazette
Noyrl-wri'ing women and newspapers
have done much to corrupt the vulgar
tongue. 18th have their excuses wo-
men are oit.p ignorant, and newspapers
are always hurried. Ii the writer
errs in lnstr he does sometimes repent
at leisure but women rarely recognize
their mistakes. or, having learnt them,
forget to go and sin no more. For want
of knowledge Of the originals vast num-
Der OF English words convey 10 distinct
meaning to them. They arc mere labels,
and have no "connotation," to use Mills
word. When lady novelist writes,
"They began life under very humble
auspices" no doubt she takes her fine
word from the newspapers, where writers
do occasionally nse some other word than
favorable" or "unfavorabic' in connec-
ton with auspices But, oi course,
'humble auspices" is ridiculous. Then
there is "embrace,' which women nnd
newspapers abuse terribly. With the
first, embrace is often sort of modest
decentralization, hut it does not mean kiss.
The newspapers use the word otherwise !;
rs i'll the well known announcement that
memorial was going to embrace sta
tue.
The usage of society plays odd pranks
with language sometimes smcanngless-
as in the case OF dropping the final o in
words which end with 'ing," and some
times correct by accident. 1t is not well
to say: "Will you take some pudding? p
when you mean 'Shall girc you some?'
A lady sat the Wells" not quite in the
great world, presumed upon insufficient
acquaintance to ask Beau Brummel to
"take tea" with her MADAM" he said
"we tlke walk, We take medicine, and
we take liberty but we drink tea.
As to the question, "Doyou take sugar.
asked SO often ut afternoon tea-tables
and considered by some people to be {
vulgarlsm, there is nothing wrong abou
it, certainly. 1t may be m inquiry abou
habit. Many little mistakes both IL
talking and writing are duo to an idei
that long words and roundabout phrase
give nm air Of vivacity to our humble
mother tongue A woman will say, g
shall retire to my apartment and repose,
and feel that she is being quite arch.
trick of speech like this soon grows int
habit and mostabomiuable one.
Mr. Turner SCOTS at the poor newspf
per writers fui speaking OF an "allege
murder" He thinks that according
these new linguistic lights an alieSatio
means u guess" Possibly they may |
30 ignorant but so far rs We have oil
served the newspaper reporter knows TIN
"alegcd' is good .legnl term. and whe
he speaks of an alleged murder he meal
that some one has said that there hi
been murder. As to phenomenon
applied to something wonderful or abno
NAL, those who 80 apply the word a
4 1,nt huu Al n
lish for 800 yenrs-adapting from Il
French. Voltaire used phenomcnc OF 0
astonishing occurrence ; and he was II
the first one to do so. 1t il common
used by the best French writer's of Il
present day. In obiecting To 'numo
ous" as equivalent to ''many," Mr.. Tu
ner is unquestionably right but
would have been wiser il he had Civ,
his Judgment without his reasons.
says rightly enough that the custom
the poets IN applying numerous ''
objects of magnitude, vastness, grandel
or depth, even though fhe terms of su
object" such object ! "were not nou
OF multitude" but nouns i'll the singu
number, shows the impropriety of usi
"numerous" for "many.' In lllust
ton he cites from Waller;
Thy heart. no rudcr than the rugged stone,
might, like orpheu5, with my numerous moan
Melt 10 compassion.
In commenting upon this passage,
Turner goes very wrong. Waller me
that HIS moan would be expressed
"numbers" or music. But
Turner thinks that ''the many-voiced
multitu linously murmnring quail
which much older poet than Waller
cribes 10 the sea, is here very elegar
suggested, in line through which
seem to hear the breathings of an Hol
harp" AS for the "purist," against VII
Mr. Turner is most fierce, he has on
side one of the greatest masters of m
ern English. Tho word probably CT
into common use after Mr.. Ruskin
adopted it IN Modern Painters"
Some New York dudes having drunk
health of an actress out of her slipper, WI
she flung of into the audience, rival
tress said Each one O whole slipper