The sun., 1897-06-20
PITTSBURG'S ODD HABIT.
WAR TO BEGIN ON THE MISUSE OF
THE RISING INFL ECTIoN.

A SIusicinn's study OF tho Habit.
PrTrsBuRe, Juno 19.-Sinco further back than
the memory OF tho oldest inhabtant runs, ex-
cossive use of tho rising infection has charac-
tcrized tho speech Of tho native Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgers themselves do not generally admit
that there Is anything peculiar In the way they
talk but strangers are struck Immediately
by the intonation that is said to DO used only In
Plttsburg. When tho Rov. DR.. John Watson
uon MacLaren) was here few weeks ago no
was much amused at tho rising infection that
nearly all Pittsburgers use ut tho end OF a sen.
tenco There are old residents here who made
tho trip from Pittsburg TO Cincinnati with
Charles Dickens in 1912 and they say that all
the time the author spent on the steamboat Mes
sengcr-when ho wasn't eating. sleeping, or
crticislng the American habit Of spittlng-he
amused himself and his party by mmicking tho
Pittsburg rising infection.
Although tho natives in general do not know
that there is oddity in their speech. those con-
cerncd with public education are well aware of
the Smoky City popularity, and arc taking steps
to abolish 1t. In q generation or two, perhaps,
II their efforts are crowned with success, party
Of Pittsburgers may visit any part Of the country
without the hall mark Of their nativity being at
the tip of their tongues. George Luckey, the
superintendent Of the public schools Of this city.
has approved q plan suggested by Miss Jennie
Ralston, the superintendent Of the normal de-
partment. Miss Ralston is q native Pittsburger,
is thoroughly acquainted with the prevalence
Of the habit spoken Of. and has decided to exert
her powers to do away with 1t. 1t is her belief
that beginning must be made In the public
schools and to achieve results the teachers must
first be instructed In the way to modulato a
sentence, SO that they may impart the art to tho
pupils under them. Miss Ralston Is much inter
ested, and hopes her efforts may effect an i'm
provement.
Our use of tho rising infection might be
called municipal peculiarity," said Miss Raj
ston, for have heard 1t stated that nowhere
else in the United States is its incorrect 30
remarkable as in Pittsburg. Southerners do
not pronounce their RS; many New Workers.,
understand, use the same letter OF the alphabet
redundantly. as 'idear.' instead OF idea the
Yankees nasal twang is criticised; Bret Harte
has immortalized the dialect OF the far Western
miners. but We Pittsburgers. though we have no
nasal twang, sound our RS properly and indulge
in no dialect, can yet be picked out anywhere
through our use of the rising infection.
1T seems odd. too At first thought this idea
strikes one. Our city is noted for the excellence
Of its public school system and the unanimity of
the parental desire for the education OF the chill
dren. Our schools are filled, many OF them are
overcrowded. Now what one might call the
tences, except those which are interrogatories
and those in which the emphatic word happens
to be at the end, should terminate with the fall.
Ing infection. Bat how many grown persons in
Ptttsburg obey this rule, either in reading or in
conversation Walk down street and, Judging
from the chance remarks OF passers.hy, you will
observe that the rule is generally honorcd more
in the breach than in the observance.
And this rule how is it obeyed in the schools
One would suppose that there, at least. pupils
the first rule or correct reading would be drilled
into the pupils. But how do II nj i'll In the class
room listening to the reading in GXerf:sss have
among the pupils. In hearing the teacher read
to the class or. explain matters to the children
the teachers her seemed % to have forgotten m H every
thing they ever knew about the falling inhec-
tion and Il was therefore impossible for them
to train the pupils in the right way. II is more
in sorrow than in the spirit OF criticism that l
say this, for have often caught myself in the
Pittsburger to get the falling Infection right.
MonS Us nET baTv 'fs be worS # wb h3 n
| on crusade against the risi ms int!ecuon Just
now. During the vacation 1 will think up a
| least in the public schools. Thc work III ust be.
gia. OF course with the teachers. can guar
| learn their profession shall be impressed with
the Importance OF imparting to their pupils the
| proper use o.! the rising infection. II will be
| more difficult for the older teachers to abandon
| their own bad habit and train the children under
tuem not 10 acquire II, out DclleNe tnat with
energetic work, prccept and example we may
effect some Improvement. Who knows but that
even the present generation Of pupils may grow
| distinguished Pittsburg speech from that OF the
| world at large has vanished from their tongues
| think it only proper that the matter should be
taken up in the teachers Institutes"
This peculiarity of speech consists, in the first
place, OF tendency to raise the voice Mt the end
| or sentence. One can notice this peculiarly at
| public meetings, OF which many have been held
| here lately in connection with the municipal
charter legislation npnIinn
| At these meetings local orators betrayed their
Pittsburg breeding in their speeches and tho
readers OF resolutions exhibited the same fault.
| Ono can notice 1t on the streets. in the street
cars, everywhere, when two persons are talking.
listener that the speaker has closed "A sentence;
only tho full stop indicates that the end OF the
sentence has been reached. Here, however, the
| Speakers voice rises note or two in the musical
| scale. as II he We're bound to gain momentum to
1t Is in the tone in which he utters explanatory
| expression that tho native Pttsburgcr invRra-
| bly, betreys his origin. Take the simple cjncua
teacher told THE Sun correspondent the en
| phnss should be on the word don't" but
say" to be accentuated slightly. party OF
| men were in the rooms of AN amateur musician
the other night and some tall fish stories were
| told. EXclamations were frequent, and the
musician amused himself by trying to take
course it was impossibe to reproduce the tones Of
ordinary conversation in notes. for while nota-
tion in music recognizes no difference less than
succeeded in showing 10 the assomblagc tho dif.
| ference betwe thr style of speech OF the ma
| jority and that OF the solitary New Yorker.
1t happened that tho nun from the metropolis
usually began his remarks in a tone that would
be indicated in musical notation by note Of
| tho treble clef. His voice rose at the word
say in the sentence " You don't say so" but
| not more than tone and n half. There hap
pcned to be present Pttshurger who began
| his sentences In tone q also, but when ho made
the remark You don't say so, his voice vAulted
| on high at the word say, and landed on notes
| ID and +, four and i've notes above his ordinary
| conversational tone and three four notes
above that OF tho New Yorker.
| The host asked the Pttsburgcrs TO account for
| their peculiar uso OF tho rising infection. and
| one and all denied that tho PiitsburE stylo OF
speech differed from that OF other eduoa' ed per
| sons. They even refused to believe when Tho
| musician showed his notation, but wero tnaly
| convinced when they set themselves to disprove
| his statement Ono Pittsburger read few SEN
tenccs from n book. and the New Yorker read
| the same thing; the musician proved that while
| tho voice OF tho man from the East sank full
tone at the end OF the sentence the Pittsburger
| raised his voico q tone and sometimes a tone
and n half Tho NpVy