Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1901-08-01
WORDS WE SWALLOW
ON THE TIP OF THE TONGUE, YET WE
CAN'T GET THEM OUT.

This Hitch In the Working of the
Brain Ix Called Aphnsin In the
Medical Profession "A Tack the
Chinamnn Uses For the Emergency.
Everybody knows what it is to have
a word OH the tip of the tongue and yet
not be able to speak it. The word is
known perfectly we'll, and yet we can
not for the life of us give It utterance.
More often than not it is a common
word i'll everyday use. But it will not
be spoken when wanted. What is the
secret of this word :&setfulness?"
Doctors call it aphasia. They cannot
explain it, but say it is Il 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 a very ingenious way of
making the best of things.
They manufactured a number of
words and sentences that meant abso-
1utely nothing. n;e"r sound without
sense. When |..naman in the course
of convers:t.~. ~""d that
he has on TIE Il; j, -; ,',Gi.r. uG. ..,,.-
not speak. .>,.''.-,s ~ Tie
meaningless u! a.o* ;;.y...."A ~, ,.e,
purpose unit - ,"""'' L.
wants and goes ca w.,u tie eaiNclsa.
ton.
The trick, f. 'rir!l 1t Is. is m,.... n.
use in public speaking and certainly is
an improvement Oh the 'er-er-ers,"
coughings and throat clparings that so
plentifully besprinkle our own after
dinner orations. The speaker preserves
his 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 it. 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 ex-
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 OF
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
diately word perfect and at a loss tc
explain their forgetfulness. A whole
part is sometimes forgotten. This usu
ally happens after very long run
During the run of "The Second Mrs
Tangueray" Mrs. Patrick Campbell one
night found herself on the stage as in
nocent of any knowledge of her part as
any member Of the audience. She made
desperate efforts to find herself" bu
it was no good. That performance she
had to read the part through from be
ginning to end.
Names of people are the words thai
slip our memories most frequently. We
see face we know. and yet we canno
fit a name to it. We are shaken by the
hand or slapped on the back, and al
the while we are hard at work trying
to think of the name Of the person who
Is doing it. Kings are credited will
royal memories. and it Is rare to find {
sovereign who has not a wonderful
memory for faces. But he usually ha:
some one at his elbow who can jog hi
memory for names.
1t Is not always safe to fish for
name wanted. When Ellen Terry ant
Henry Irving were in America on
year. they met a gentleman who. the.
knew. had reason to expect that the.
could remember his name. But thi
they failed to do. So Miss Terry ap
preached him and said: "Sir Henry ant
cannot agree as to the exact spellin,
of your name. Will you please put u
right" Certainly" was the reply. II
is Jones"
Aphasia is divided by those who hav
studied the subject into word blind
ness" and word deafness" maj
who is word blind" may be able t
pronounce the name Of letters. but can
not understand the meanings Of tn
words they form. A man who is "wor,
deaf can understand ordinary sound
and music. but cannot understand spo
ken words. His speech is often mer
senseless jargon.