Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1893-10-14
-nuNKuM.s
American Origin and Specification Of
the Word.

American Origin ana sa&uihcAhAoh "a
the Word.
The meaning OF this word. or at
least the impression conveyed by tho
word, has slowly altered, in this
country at least, within the last forty
wears, says the London Review. IL
originally meant according TO all
American dictionaries, talking for
talking's sake, or talking TO one
audience for the benefit OF another.
A congressional member for dis
trict OF North Carolina named Bun.
combe insisted on delivering speech
to an impatient house Of representa-
tiyes, and when taxed with his con
duet defended himself by declaring
that he was compelled TO make a
speech which his constituents could
read and that in fact he was talk
ing 10 Buncombe. This is certainly
the sense in which Judge Halliburton,
the author Of ..Sam Slick, used the
expression; and our recollection is
that in lS40-5O il was so employed
within quotation marks in criticising
parliamentary speeches. The Ameri-
cans, who catch any much-needed
phrase of the kind with extraordinary
quickness. speedily degraded Bun
comben into ''BunlSum, and the yul-
gar spelling was slowly adopted In
England. but with significant change
OF meaning. The word being Ameri-
can. and all American oratory uttered
for effect having one peculiar note
in ii. .bunkum" came to signify
speech uttered solely through its
tone OF patriotic exaggeration The
man who talks bunkum Is not talk
ing vague nonsense or stun intended
10 occupy time, but Is uttering high
falutln" battery either Of the people
or OF the country, or Of the future
which is before either. Nobody
would say. for example, that wheu
the late Mr.. Biggar was reading eN-
cerpts from blue books he was talk
ing bunkum. though il he did he
would be close to the original mean
ing; while everybody would say that
bunkum was the great defect " MIR.
Sections often very eloquent oratory
The thing, in its modern sense, -
almost exclusively American. Irish
or French. and diferentiates oratury
delivered for either OF those people
from oratory delivered for English
men, in q nearly inexplicable way.
Why do We English not bunk. !"
when our kinfolk and our rivals do9
Some years ago, while discussing
Oratory. we endeayUrcd 70 explain
the habit as resulting from the alb
sence Of the pride begotten Of a great
history; and II IL were confined TO
the Americans and the Irish, VIC
should still consider that explanation
sufficient A people unsupported by
history sustains its pride by self
praise. and in particular BY magui-
! ficent disquisitions upon the glorious
future which. il Is satisfactory 10 as
sumo. lies open before It, American
history Is too short for pride except
when the pride takes the form Of
statistics which, no doubt. are
I startling IN America. and are there
fore quoted with frequency aud
| pleasure while Irish history Is 10
| Irish minds. an endless narrative oil
failure, oppression and continuous
but baficd aspirations, The proud
GOODNESS Of the EngIishmau. on tho
other hand, which Induces him 10 10.
! gard self praise as vulgar. and the
uttcring Of grand aspirations az. al
best, weakly rhetorical form Of ap,
/ peal to sentiment. Is based on his.
tory Of d thousand years, which be
regards. in part enormously, in part
accurately. as narrative Of nearly
unbroken success Gle has done
great things, he lost America; he has
never either conquered or conciliated
ireland, and he is far from perfectly
| contented with his own civilization
N snnErn IN 80 f.,rr hInnn