The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-16
FRENCH USE OF ENGLISH WORDS
ihcY Have Changed Picnic to "Piauc-
nique" and Roast Beef TO "Rosbif.'
From Leslie's Weekly.

I'm A@NoliC > weekly.
Paris newspapers as a rule, take COM
paratively little notice Of the outside
world. or even of the stranger within
their gates. But when Lord Terence
Blackwood, the son of Lord Dufferin
married Miss Davis of New York. the
diplomatic position of Lord Dufferin
made reporting necessary. In reading the
account in a leading Paris paper l was sur
prised to learn that the choir sang 20.
Have Faith in the Low d'Elwey." IT
takes some seconds for an intelligent and
church-bred English reader to decipher
from this, 20, Have Faith in the Lord
Always" and l fancy the French who
tried must have impatiently snapped shut
their dictionaries. Those who did under
stand probably thought THE Lord" refer
red to Lord Terence.
do not doubt that the French make
as good work quoting US as we do them.
with their exquisite tip-of-the-tongue
words, but the new phase is that they
quote us at all. Walter Scott tells us
how our Saxon forefathers were Obliged
to learn the French names for the good
les they served to the Normans We
nave been continuing this and adopting
their words steadily down to our own
day, when 1t springs not from necessity,
but affection. Good sense has not vet
downed the people who consider it ele-
giant to sprinkle their talk with "de trop. -
CONNIE il fault" and we will put "P. p.
c." on our cards and "R. S. V. p" on our
invitations. But the average Frencnman
in so content with his country and its
methods that he is famous for staying at
home and taking care of both. He has not
ceased to consider the English as less civ
ilized than himself, and, moreover is tenn
peramentally antagonistic to the race that
burned his Jeanne FARO. So that 1t seems
strange to see him now turning with the
least Difference toward the English man.
ners or language.
Super-rehned and nervous, he is now be-
ginning to delight in that same Saxon
vigor which used to repel him. He has
long since adopted the English "rosbif, -
and 'bifteck," and plum pudding" and
Sandwiches" he is now adopting Eng
lish games. Our word sport is becoming
naturalized there. A paper called Paris
Sport" is devoted to reporting athletics.
Thus one reads in his Paris morning pa
per about "le match,' lie record" and
'1e reccordman," 'le catching" and lie
bookmaker" at the races. In reading of
the horse show one will come upon the ex-
preston, "le gentleman rider" and will
realize that the English country gentle
man. with his devotion to riding, has be-
come TO the french an ODJect OF SlncereSt
prafse-imitation For velocipedist they
use an amusing hybrid word lie veloce-
man."
Even the French jeune file is becoming
athletic and independent, like her English
sister ION mapporte mon coaching
cane" one of them said the other day,
''et nous filons au polo" And her fash
ionable mother has taken to drinking tea,
which she pours for her friends at 'le 5
o'clock" pronounced 'le tiff o'clock"
While a Frenchman in search of rec
reation will take his family to a restau-
rant or cafe concert, the Englishman will
go alone to his club For the club is the
great English institution prevailing
among all classes. The French have
noted this, and we now often hear them
use a verb "cluber," meaning to join in
a social gayety. In like manner they have
taken the word speeches" and talk lies
toasts" after dinner. and tell how man
is "blackboule." meaning.o course, black
balled The word meeting is almost uni
versally used by them, although hardly
recognizable with the French twist to its
pronunciation.
The United States has added its special