The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1901-08-22
WORDS WE SWALLOW
ON THE tip OF THE TONGUE, YET WE
CAN'T GET THEM OUT.

This Hitch In the Working Of the
Brain Is Called AphaAtn In the
Medical Profession "A Trick the
! Chinaman Cses For the Emergency.
Everybody knows what 1t IS to have
q word OH the tip Of the tongue and yet
not be able to speak it The word is
known perfectly well, and yet we can
not fer the life of us give it utterance.
More often than not it Is a common
word III everyday use. But 1t will not
be spoken when wanted. What is the
secret of this word forgctfulness?"
Doctors call it aphasia. They cannot
explain it, but say 1t is little hitch in
the working Of the brain or intellect
The Chinese, who have done so many
quaint and clever things, recognized
the difficulty thousands Of years ago
and invented very ingenious way OF
making the best Of things.
They manufactured A number Of
words and sentences that meant abso-
lutely nothing, mere sound without
sense. When a Chinaman in the course
Of conversation comes to word that
he has on the tip Of his tongue, but can
not speak, he Just makes use Of the
meaningless phrases invented for that
purpose until he recalls the word he
wants and goes on with the conversa-
ton.
The trick, for trick 1t is, is much in
use in public speaking and certainly is
IN improvement on the "er-cr-ers,"
coushings and throat clearings that SO
plentifuIly besprinkle our own otter
dinner orattons. The speaker preserves
bis dignity and gives himself time for
thought
Very often the greater the desire to
speak the missing word the greater the
difficulty or sheer impossibility. The
man in the Arabian story could not re-
member the words "Open sesame" al
though he was In danger Of his life.
There are many cases on record Of SOL
diers, even officers, forgetting the pass
word and being shot down by their
own sentries. At the critical moment
the all important word that they
thought they knew as well as their own
names escapes them. They struggle to
recall 1t. but the very effort makes It
more difficult, and they pay with their
lives.
A man may sometimes be tortured
and yet be unable to speak the word he
most desires to utter. Spies have been
captured and have gone to their death
in silence not because they have not
been eager to betray their comrades,
but because under the stress and e1-
citement Of the situation they have to
tally forgotten the information they
would convey. A celebrated case Of this
kind was made the subject Of play
produced in London some years ago,
called "A Question Of Memory"
No doubt every reader will be able to
recall instances In which he has suf-
fered from this word forgetfulness."
One can often remember the initial let
ter of the word. but not the word itself.
1t Is still on the tip Of the tongue. even
after one has given up the struggle to
recollect It
Actors sometimes forget a word or
two in their parts that no effort Of their
own can give back to them at the mo-
ment. But the wings reached and the
strain removed they are again imme-
diately word perfect and at loss to
explain their forgetfulness. A whole
part Is sometimes forgotten. This usu-
ally happens after O very long run.
During the run Of The Second Mrs.
Tanqueray" Mrs. Patrick Campbell one
night found herself on the stage as in
nocent of my knowledge Of her part as
any member Of the audience. She made
desperate efforts to find herself" but
It was no good. That performance she
had to read the part through from be-
ginning to end.
Names Of people are the words that
slip our memories most frequently. We
see a face we know, and yet we cannot
ft a name to it We are shaken by the
hand or slapped on the back. and all
the while we are hard at work trying
to think Of the name Of the person who
Is doing It. Kings are credited with
royal memories, and 1t is rare to find a
sovereign who has not wonderful
memory for faces But be usually has
some one at bis elbow who can jog his
memory for names
1t is not always safe to fish for a
name wanted. When Ellen Terry and
Henry Irving were in America one
year, they met gentleman who, they
knew, had reason to expect that they
could remember his name. But this
they failed to do. So Miss Terry ap-
preached him and said: "Sir Henry and
I cannot agree as to the exact spelling
Of your name. Will you please put US
rightT Certainly" was the reply. 1T
is J-o-n-e-sr'
Aphasin Is divided by those who have
studied the subject into word blind
ness" and WORD deafness" A man
who is word blind" may be able to
pronounce the name Of letters, but can
not understand the meanings OF the
words they form. A man who is word
DEAF can understand ordinary sounds
and music, but cannot understand spo-
ken words. His speech Is often mere
senseless jargon.
But the passing forgetfuIness Of a
word has little to do With these more
serious forms Of the complaint We
swallow words under the influence OF
excitement or more often Of fatigue.
People getting better from serious ILL
ness are torraented by the loss Of COM
mon words. This is particularly the
case after Influenza. One Of our lead
ing statesmen after an attack of this
malady suddenly lost the thread Of his
speech in the midst of public dis
course.