The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-02-16
THE USE OF SLANG.
Said IN Be OH the Increase Anon :
Loudou's workingwomen.


A question to which all school boards
might well address some OF their zeal,
Is the crying need for amendment in
the language of a vast proportion of
young working womanhood at the
present time, says London paper. 1t
IL not that their tongue is ungrammati-
cal or blunt: nor is il merely vulgar
ney intonation of the moment-worse,
surely than the broadcast that was talk
ed in Dickens day. Would, indeed.
that feminine speech had no worse de-
fects. But il has lately only been too
painfully apparent that young girls are
acquiring habit of using coarse and
blasphemous expressions in ordinary
conversation among themselves. This
is strong charge to bring. but the
subject is one of whose existence those
only whose vacations take them into
the inner intimacies of working girls
callings and amusements are to any
extent aware. Scarcely a day passes
on which there cannot be read in the
police court such sentences as The
prisoner was violently abusive. and
made use of bad language" though
even more convincing proof of the
widespread character of the evil is to
be found by walking in close proxim-
ity to a number of just released fac
tory hands.
The ladies who know most. perhaps,
on this deplorable topic are those who
work with the Factory Helpers Union,
in conjunction with the Young Wo-
mems Christian Association; but the
curious fact is that they very rarely
hear the offensive talk themselves
The toughest girl, most fully imbued
with that reckless bravadO so charac-
teristic of her class, moderates her
speech in the presence OF a refinement
which she recognizes. though she will
bluntly tell the lady; This amt how l
talk outside"
Masters and forewomen have fire.
quently told these ladies of the real
sternness they are obliged to exercise
in their workrooms to check profane
and rude conversation. even to the
dismissal of particularly bad offend
ers. and have asked them. in evening
classes and on such occasions. to sec
ond their efforts by pointing out how
hateful and unfeminine such habit
is. Though the majority of those who
are guilty of ii have vague idea that
talk like this is offensive To those out
side their own sphere, very few have
any comprehension whatever of the
real meaning and significance of what
they are saying. and the habit of inter
Harding their speech with CALCULATIONS
must be set down primarily to igno-
rance.
What. perhaps, has to be recognized
at the outset is that the present YER
nacular of the slums Is "A positive lam
guage in itself. composed Of very
limited but terribly forcible vocabula-
ny. One may hear young mother
her four-year-old baby in
words that startle: or little boys using
the lowest slang of the potshop: and
the saddest testimony of all is that the
little girls Of thirteen or fourteen, just
leaving the board schools. are very
often the very worst offenders of all.
Fortunately. in many of the factories
the vigilance and discipline OF good
forewoman. and the quiet influence OF
a few respectable girls. who do not hes
itate to show their dislike of bad lam
guage exercises a salutary restaint
in time but these naughty and preco-
cious little minXes frequently cause
the worst annoyance on coming into
the workrooms. 1t is certainly a
startling reflection to think that after
more than quarter of a century OF
education the speech of the
masses should, in many instances, so
far transgresS the obligations of de-
corum and decency.