The morning news., 1889-05-20
QUEER USES OF WORDS.
Curious Expressions Peculiar to the
North and South.
Rebecca Hart in the Chautauquan.

curious GXpF65SIOAS ESCA4ldL W bAO
North and South.
Rebeccn Hart in the CJtautduquan
1t seems the most natural thing in the
world for southerner in calling another to
say, 60 Johnn but it ways seems to amuse
our friends across the way. 1t is the 80"
that exctes their merrlment, and i'll at
tenn pting TO give the popularity they often
represent us as saying, "Ho! John" which
we never do say.
Another southern expression which al
ways sounds queer to northern ears is the
use of the word mighty" as an adverb.
But to those accustomed to it, mighty
pretty conveys an idea OF beauty that tile
overburdened northern word lovely"
doesn't reach. Turning to Webster to see
if it must be given UP, we fad that it is al
lowable when used colloquially. Good! We
should never want to use it except colloqui-
ally.
In the north a man fills his wagon box"
with corn and draws" it to town; in the
south he fills his wagon "bed" with corn and
'hauls" it 30 the same place.
In New England they say the going"
(meauing the condition of the roads Is bad.
In the south they say ''the travelling" IS bad.
Perhaps to say the roads are bad would be
more Ineligible than either.
Southerners say like" for "as lf'--as,
"She looked like she wanted to 60" They
laugh at it in the north, and in the same
breath say las" for "that"-'1 don't know
as l ever heard it here"-and then the
southerner laughs, and both are happy. 50
ingrained are both expressions, however,
that the delinquents are seldom conscious of
the delinquency.
A large proportion of grammatical mis-
takes are common to the uneducated where
ever they are found but there are some
which are so peculiar to certain sections
that their use settles at once the question of
whether the person using them Is from the
north or the south. The expression II
seen" for 81 saw is a very common mis-
take in the south aud rare in the north.
while II sea him yesterday" for II saw him
yesterday" so common, evea among edu-
| Gated people, at the north, is never heard in
the south.
This makes it difficult for writers who
have never lived in a certain section to
imitate successfully the dialect of that peo-
pie. They are apt to be betrayed into
| tho mistake of putting into the
mouths of a certain class ID another part of
! the country such words as they would hear
from the same class in their own section
This, undoubtedly, is the difficulty whic II
many northern writers fad in truthfully
portraying the negro dialect. They
| take as models the negroes they
nave known. and judge, incorrectly,
UuaI tue JdIA OIL southern negro
| would be the same; consequently, a prac-
| ticed ear can almost always detect the diff
fernce bet Feen one who assumes a ia
miliarity and one who is "to this manner
born" The inco1gruity of making south
ern negro say War be yoI goiu'!n as we saw
| recently in some story, is inexpressibly lu-
dicrous to one familiar with their dialect.
He might say "Whar you goin'" or ''Whar
is you goin'W but never "Whar be YOU
| gOin'" The honor of the expression ''Yo
| be" belongs exclusively to the north WHAT
he would be most likely to say is, "Whar
| yCu gwine3n