The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-12-01
WORDS AND PHRASES.
How Thor Meanings Alter According to
Plnoo aud Usage.

How Thoir Meanings Alter According to
Plnoo aud Usage.
| It matters not brass farthing or q
red cent (Which you willy whether one
says grade" or gradient" 'shunt" or
Switch" "tinned" or canned" lob
| ster, says the London Saturday Review.
American use prefers one term, English
tho other, and that is all. Railroad"
is ut most n trifle old fashioned here,
and perfectly admissible. We should
write it ourselves without hesitation
when it fitted the sentence better than
railway" When we como to words
of the general vocabulary, such rs
''clever," guess" reckon" some of
them are New England or western
provincialisms in their own country,
just as "canny" is or lately was a
northern provincialism in Britain.
They may be adopted on either side as
part of the general stock. It is con-
ceivable that word might be freely
used by British writers without any
sense of local color before it had ceased
to be provincial in America.
We cannot admit, however, that the
question of Amcricanism is concluded
by showing authority for the word or
phrase in English documents of the
seventeenth century or earlier. What
ever we consciously import from Amer
lea in our own time is not the less an
American import here and now because
it was English long ago. Nor are we
the less entitled to import and use it,
If it is good, because it is really of
American growth. When old authority
can be produced we are able to answer
the historical and grammatical purists
after their own manner, which often
times is convenient. AS facts in the
history of the language these things
are always interesting; rs guides to
what our language ought to be we can
not, for our part, attach any great i'm
portaucc to them. AS nineteenth CEN
fury coinage may be good, SO seven
teenth century coinage may be bad.
Both should prevail or be rejected on
their merits, except where usage has
already settled the word in it's right of
citizenship.
Brander Matthews carries, the wars
into our coasts and attacks "Briti-
cisms" of Britain. He says that Mr..
Bagenot used ''like" and Sir Charles
Dixie uses without" as conjunction.
Very we'll to that extent Mr.. Bagenot
and Sir Charles Dixie stand convicted of
bad English. But we must wholly de-
cline to be held answcrable for them or
to accept either of them as represent
ing the standard or even the average Of
English as written in England Many
able men and some great men of letters,
have been careless writer's.
Again, it may be British habit to
say: Very pleased" 1t is not the
habit of careful writers or good speak
ers. At one point we think Brnnder
Matthews makes u definite mistake.
He treats tho uses of ministers"
meaning ministers in Office for the time
being, as growing neologism. Unless
our memory greatly dcceivcs us it was
the common form of the last century,
and "the ministry" the government"
are innovations by comparison We
did not know that the revival of "min-
listers" was on the increase. When we
have used it ourselves it has been with
apleasurable feeling of slight archaism.
But If Brander Matthews has observed
that it is coming into fashion again he
is very likely to be right For our own
part we should welcome it.