The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-01-13


Mr. Fitz Edward Hall, who is an An
glicized American and an Oriental and
pathological scholar of some reputation,
is confident that the mother tongue is
being spoiled on this side of the Allan
tic. He actually charges WilliaIn UnL
len BRYANT with writing much worse
English than did Charles Brockden
Brown near the close of the last cent
urv, and makes Mr.. Bryant atype of
Che prevailing degeneracy of our edu-
Gated men. Mr.. Gilbert M. Tucker is
much exercised at this, and discusses
The subject at length in the North Amer-
tc0R ReUieJC. Having confessed that
there are local peculiarities in the diff
ferent sections of our country, he vent
ures the declaration, which we have
heard before. that there is less slang and
greater harmony of usage among Amer
leans than Englishmen. de finds, first,
that people on this side of the water fol
low the spelling in their pronunciation
more closely than do their British breth-
rem. Thus Englishmen sound the thor
oughly AnglicZed French word trait as
If it were spelled tray. What Ameri
cans call silver the English pronounce
silver. The analogy of liver and the
example of Chaucer are in favor of the
American usage. Schedule, which we
pronounce as if the CHI were k, is in
England almost the only exception to
the rule that CHI is hard after S, for it is
there called shedule. Americans have
simpliled photography by getting rid of
the second G in Wagon, and in storey
of house, and have expurged ugh from
plough and some other words. and q
from labo1r, arboar. honour, Glamour,
harbour, colour, neighbour, candour,
vapour, favour; the ! from woolien,
travel er, and they are getting rid of the
French tailpiece ne from many words.
1t will surprise many of our readers
TO learn that the following words are OBJ
solete in England Adze, atlectation,
amerce, andirons, angry (said of a
wound), bay-window, bearers Cat a
funeraD, burly, cesspool, clodhopper,
clutter, copious, counterfeit money,
cross-purposes, deft, din, greenhorn,
hasp. Intel, loophole, newell, ornate,
perforce, ragamutfin, riflraf, rigmarole,
scant, shingles, sutler, thill, toady,
trash, and underpinning. In their
place the English have invented such
words as totailinq or tolling for adding
up; hjpped for out of spirits; Marcy fol-
Iaborer; JOd for pastime; 0ut,nq for
pleasure excursions; bind for beat They
use famous for excellent, traffic foi
travel. rot for nonsense, jug for pitcher
good form for good taste, and tidy foi
almost anything complimentary. A
young person is always a girl in En-
gland. An invalid is i'll unless nauseat
ed, yet he is described as being in {
sick-room or sick-bed. An Englishmar
is Mortified at the idea OF riding in ,
carriage; yet he rides in an omnibus o.
street-car. When he enters vehicle a
the side he drives; when at the end, h,
rides. Different to instead of differen
from; these kind and those thought
and Immediately, or directly, for as sooi
as, are among the other Anglican bar
barisms specified by Mr.. Tucker. TIT
bulk OF so-called Americanisms are o
English origin, and have been KEEP
alive in this country while they hay,
died out at home. Mr.. Hall opponen
makes some good points against him
but we doubt if the question is an,
nearer settled than it was before. TIL
practical point is that Lnglishmen an,
Americans speak so nearly alike tina
they can understand each other. = Gin
-ciNndt Gazette.
.