The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-05
ENGLISH AS SHE is WROTE.
How a German Professor kidnapped" Some
Good Words.

William Drysdale. in New York Times.
Some day when you want to convince yourself
that you don't know anything at all about the
English language, take up dictionary and go
to looking out the spelling and pronunciation of
words you think you know all about. Any
dictionary will do, but Websters preferred.
did this this morning and l make
haste to write this before the language
gets away from me entirely 1t changes SO
much expect in a short time to have to fall
back on the twenty or thirty words of Spanish
know and give up English altogether. Several
queer modes of spelling and pronunciation that
/ have come across in the last week called my
attention to this thing and looked them up in
Webster. l had the satisfaction of finding that
in each instance was wrong according to the
dictionary There is only one thing for man
to do under such crcumstances-he must stick
it out on his own ground, ana contend that the
dictionary is wrong. That is what do in the
three instances / am about to mention.
In my brief genealogical researches to-day. /
did something that suppose few people have
done-I read the preface to the dictionary. 1t
was a brash undertaking. but it paid, for !
found out in minute why We could not agree
in some RECOMMENDATIONS and spellings Here is
what read: "In preparing for the present re-
vision 1882 the attention of both the editor and
the publishers was first directed to the etymology
They were aware that, however admirable the
industry and valuable the cor tributions of Dr.
Webster in this department, the science Of com
parative philology was by no means perfect in
his time, if, indeed it could be said to exist at
all. 1t is only within very few years that the
true principles on which this science rests have
been suggested and confirmed, and the methods
have been determined by which future invest i
cations may be successfully prosecuted.
In 1854 arrangements were made with DR.. c. A.
F. MAIN. of Berlin, Prussia, tn undertake this
task DIR. MAIN was recommended by some of
the most distinguished scholars of Germany as
admirably qualified for the service, and he had
been favorably known by special researches in
this department He has employed several
years upon the work. and has performed 1t in a
manner worthy of his high reputation" Thai
settled it; my spelling and pronunciation in
New York, in 1886, were to be governed by the
opinion of Pruss.an ia Berlin, in 1854 There
was no more to De said and | called in a very
strong man. who sometimes works about the
yard to put the dictionary back on the shelf.
Now for two of the words where Prussian
English and American English clash. The prn-
cipal of very good school in New Jersey and
were talking about history the other day
happened to mention Motley's Rise of the
Dutch Republic"
ssYou mean the Rice of the Dutch Republic ,"
said he. pronouncing the word Rise just as /
have spelled it, Rice.
mo / don's," said I, ''mean anything of the
kind
But that word is Rice, not Rise, when used
as a noun.' said he
was incredulous, and we took down copy of
Webster, which was the nearest to hand Sure
enough. Webster gave 1t Ris. for the noun, 20