New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-09-29


terms"
~, II vet 1t seems to be from some confused
.ousction OF these plain sentences that the
s,v modern notion OF an American language
= s,rung Ninety nine Americans out of a
su,dred are too well informed and too sensible
. make the mistake. but the hundredth Is apt to
- noisy He has two complaints each incon-
.,s,snt with the other. but that does not disturb
.,ro One we have seen. He wants the English
,o,vuage 10 be American. or. he sometimes
&c q his desire Is 20 Americanize the English
,o,.uage. The other. perhaps more frequent.
100 the form OF an outburst OF rage IL he is
..,a that any OF his pet neologsms not Eng
,.h hut American. Well. either there are Ameri-
,anIsms or there are not Webster defines
Iuericanism as "a word or phrase peculiar to the
,,,,sd States" The word implies no reproach: IL
,s only the recognition OF a condition OF things
~h,ch does exist. But here again the distress of
the pathological patriot is due TO confusion Of
mind and to failure to see things as they are.
He assumes that all Americanisms must be good
and useful additions to the mother tongue. Great
rumbers of them are: not all. l will give the
natriot an easy test. Let him take Bartetts
"Dctionary OF Americanisms" and turn over its
,ages Would he like TO all the words and
phrases embalmed in that book? Does he think
them all good English or good American? If he
does there Is no more TO be said. He puts him.
self out of court. II he does not. he gives away
nc case. He may accept whichever horn OF the
dilemma ne likes best.
The truth is clear enough to anybody who will
,snect moment on the circumstances in which
Americanisms have grown up l will confne
myself 10 one the newspapers. Both in America
and in England the linguistic influence of the
haap
,bs world a acknowledgements English 1t Is
rot meant to be complimentary. But in America
the growth Of the press was much more rapid
than in England, and the laws by which writer's
for the American press-let us say. in order to
wound no susceptibties. a generation or two
ago-agrced to be bound were less stringent and
less we'll defined than here. License and not law
was what they delighted in; two generations ago
The slang of the sidewalk found its way joyfuly
into print and stayed there. Hundreds of writ
ers thought II pedantc 10 recognize any dlstinc-
t,on between literature and the colloquialsm OF
the grogshop use the word literature In a very
large sense as meaning what Is written ana
rrinted in the English language. or in some dia-
,ect Of English 1t will be more to the point II
sav iournalism-the Journalism OF two genera
lions ago The public was believed at that ''ne
20 have an appetite for sensations. and not only
the STYLE In which the story was told. the re-
sourees Of the existing language, in so far as they
were known to these ambitious gentlemen were
deemed insufficient; new words had to be invent
"a and old words to be used in new ways Inc
descriptive reporter added many new terms 10
the voca bulary he found; now and then facy'
picturesque and useful word; more often sup
ehod phrase, a needless coinage, vuisarisih' d
mere echo Of the corner grocery.
Manv OF these new words and new usages were
aumped into the new dictionaries. Webster
speaks In awestruck tones OF the necessity OF
attempting TO trace and define Io0oo or soooo
words The task was zoo much lot human
strength. But the period OF competition III oic-
tionary-making followed. Each editor or per-
hans publisher. wished to surpass his predecessor.
and the 10000 or 1000 words have sweled 10
200 900 or 100000 When the object was to IN
clude as many words possible. discrimination
was not likely to be careful. Almost everything
was swept into the net. Once printed in DC
.ionary a word was supposed 10 acquire khd "l
authority or prestige; at any rate. recoghi%eu
,os,tion The editor could not afford to brand
too many Of his novelties as coiloquiahshis' III
many fragrant instances he let them pass "i'"ou'
q word Of warning to the reader. IL Is pecu'
tarty of the patriot in philology 10 regard NV
tionary-any Dictionary. If published IN America
as sacred He appeals tc IT In the same spirit
OF reverence as the Bible. 1t Is maj au-
thority. II he can find word or usage IN an
American Dictionary, that Is enough ior hi"'
He never thinks Of asking who gave the Dicuoh-
srv.maker the right to legislate for the English
speaking race.
Not long since commented on the use OF the
,-d "extended" IN the sense of granted or
offered as a pet vulgarism Of the patriotic Amer
soan The Century Dictionary was instantly hung
.t NV head. The Century gives, It appears TINS
nc. NJ extended as lawful, and quotes Isaiah
have not a Century at hand | write. but
have Isaiah, and the quotation does not support
the usage The reference 3 TO Isaiah. XVI ~
"For thus saith the Lord. Behold. Will extehd
peace to her like river, and the glory Oh 'ie
Gentiles like a flowing stream the chap'er Is
q cbapter upon the enlargement OF Zion' anu '''e
Main meaning Of the verse Is that the peace anu
glory elsewhere existing he will extend 10 Jeru-
sa,em-a legitimate use Of the word ana totally
unlike the perverted and vulgar use "hich
criticised.
Put with or without Isaiah, the giving Oh the
deo,i,ion in the Century would evidently have
sa,,s6ed YOUR correspondent. who thinks criti-
c.no On Americanisms and American dictionaries
ought TO be left to the English he belongs
fear 10 that company OF Chauvinists to whon
,,,,,nx American IA haIlowed because 1t Is
Anerican-a doctrine which would have stayeo
the march of Improvement on the thresho'o
Invention. scholarship, progress OF every Kha
would have been forbidden. The America OF 1917
would have been the America Of 1888 is there a
doctrine more essentially un-American or a"''-
American? Is there to be no freedom OF speech
no criticism. nothing but blind ha'tery Oh 'ne
majority because 1t is the majority! fhele u
nothing American in that, it is Chinese FROM
the English says this patriot one expects '"'S
kind OF criticism" but from Americans "o"e
On the contrary. we resent, and of'eh
rightly resent. censure from the English because