The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-12-20
"sHALL" AND "wILL."

From the Rochester Post-Express.
A recent discussion about the uses Of
the words ''shalr' and "will'' Is noticed
In the Bookmaker by Robert Barr, Of
London, England. 1t appears that Mr..
Barr Is an iconoclast. That is, he is in
favor of abolishing the distinction be-
tween the two words mentioned which
from time immemorial the English gram
marians have insisted upon. He places
himself squarely on the side of those
reckless Americans who say shall" when
they mean will" and "will'' when they
mean ''shall," and either when they mean
both. He expresses his delight that Rich
ard Harding Davis has declared that he
does not know the difference betgeen the
two detestable words" and to encourage
his benightedness has even commenced
buying and reading the Davis books. 1t
will be seen by this that Mr.. Barr is an
uncommon Londoner. II must confess"
he says, that l haven't the faintest no.
ton of how shalr and will should be
used so as to conform with English ideas
on the subject In this connection he
discloses tt, fact that he committed 'fn
early life. the pathological error of being
born in Scotland" which makes a differ
ence and partially explains his lack of
linguistic orthodoxy.
ii
Mr.. Barr quotes Dean Afford as say
ing: II never knew an Englishman who
misplaced shall and will l hardly ever
have known an Irishman or Scotchman
who did not misplace them sometimes"
This" Mr.. Barr adds, 'is merely an
Englishman's statement that Englishmen
are right and the other fellows wrong"
To be sure. Englishmen are inclined to
such an opinion regarding all disputed
questions which are in any sense national,
and many others. For one thing, they
consider II very absurd in us to spell ia
vor" and labor" with out 'u," and TO
pronounce such words as ''can" and "sad"
as If they were not spelt 'con" and sod"
They have never been very well pleased
with us since the tea was thrown over
board in Boston harbor The Declaration
of Independence and revolution that fol-
lowed were not at all TO their liking, and
although they got worsted then in the mat
ters of fighting and ruling, they do not in
tend to be conquered easily when it comes
to mere matter of words and their uses.
1t is not likely therefore, that we are go
ing 20 get any sympathy from England un-
til very late If we insist that "will'' and
"shalp' have Interchangeable values
This, clearly, is what we have begun 10
do and are going to do. According to
the Bookman, the Lehigh, Johns Hopkins
and cornell universities are turning out
men who do not know how to use ''shall'
or will" according to the English meth
cd. And yet the most of these graduates
manage to make themselves pretty well
understood. which is what language is for
One says. II shall do It," and another, II
will do it," and both mean precisely the
same thing, and their hearers and read
ers are not In the least confused as to the
meaning. The context makes it plain
enough. Why bother any more about
these English rules?
-:.:-
One of the latest and most authorita-
tive American dictionaries says: "Shall
and will are used as auxliaries in the
simple future tense as follows: I viii;
thou shalt he shall; we will; you shall;
they shall. The exceptions are numerous
and the distinctions between the two
forms constitutes one of the most diff
cult things in the language for the for
eigner to master. For instance, the form
of the absolute future may be chosen to
indicate determination in a prophetic way;
as. you will rue this. On the other hand
the imperative form may be used in fore
telling to imply wish or an opinion OF
the speaker; as, they shall all get their
deserts"
Usage determines the meaning of
words, and the dictionaries and gram
mars, English or American, must con-
form to 1t or go out. The rules must
change from time to time or the language
of the people will leave them I'm the lurch.
The science Of language is not an exact
science. If n word In the course of years
or centuries comes to have a sense entire
ly different from what 1t had originally,
as is the case with many words, the
changed definition must be accepted by
the learned and ignorant alike: That
which best conveys thought
to the minds of others is the one to be pre-
ferred; and II one word Ia as good as an
other for this purpose. "will," for exam
pie, as good as SHALL" or "shall' as
good as will" there Is an increasing num-
ber of intelligent men and women who
will not be at all careful in selecting be-
tween the two. Why should they?