New-York tribune., 1902-07-07

gentleman, and others like him, regard English,
understand it, as a sort of dead language.
If it is not so. why should Americans be angry
when they are told that their language is their
own? 1t is not consistent with their attitude OF
wondering admiration of themselves and all
that is theirs which is only surpassed. perhaps,
among the nations Of the world by the similar
attitude in Englishmen toward all that is Eng
hsh-exceptins only their language.
It is a notable dispute, and worthy of arbitra-
ton. Let turn to the land of scholars ana
ask its opinion, with the comfortable assurance
that IL will support Take any ten German
students and congratulate them on their knoWl-
edge of English. They will all be pleased, but
five Of them in the interests of truth will feel
bound to tell you that they do not know Eng
hsh very well, having only learned 1t from an
American. This however, is only verbal con-
frmation; let also cali educational literature
to our aid. There is a series of popular hand
books in foreign languages much circulated IN
Germany, known. the "Polyglott kuntze
series. In this series are issued two volumes
side by side. for Die Englische Sprache, the
other for Die Amerikanische Sprache. IN tne
American handbook there is 'vorwort," which
according to our Interpretation contains IN d
nutshell the German belief as TO the dlsslIin-
lar1ty of the two languages. 1t runs: 'Jeder'
der mach Nord-America oder Austrahen Will,
muss Englisch konnen CIntending travellers TO
able to speak English and this, being para
phrased, implies, They must also purchase our
companion instructor to the English language.
l MS is as much as to say that knoWIeuge OF
American will be Of no use in Canada or Aus
tralia. To us this is most convincing. and for
once we are grateful TO the Germans
Let us state that we do not wish to find any
fault with colloquial American as it is spoken
by the natives themselves. 1t has an adequate
reason for its existence in that It is the effort
of young race to express the energy and vital
ity which their inheritance. and, moreover,
II is generally humorous in effect. II not IN IN
tention-a cloak for many sins. Thus when we
meet a young American lady who constructs
her conversational periods on the following
skeleton: See here reckon right
along do tell calculate some
all the time make me tired
any few :" are pleased,
rather than annoyed, because we feel that it is
natural for a young American lady to speak in
this way; might even be disappointed If she
spoke after the English fashion. Similarly, we
delight in the odd phrases Of the American hu-
morists, because they have definite meaning
and suggest definite pictures to mind, and
because the result is that we laugh.
We only begin to protest when we find that
words OF American origin are gradually making
their way into our own language and, worse
than that, being written down with English
pens and printed in English books which aspire
and even attain to some degree of literary merit
In fact, our complaint is entirely literary. We
do not care, for instance. how much stocks and
shares slump and BOOM; from any standpoint
higher than that OF Mammon ii does not matter
what they do. Terms of trade and commerce
are innocuous; need not even read the city
column. and if we must, we do not look in it for
the graces Of writing. For that go to the
leading article-no. we should say used TO
go TO IL, for Of late disappointed. We
find that even the graceful leader-Writer booms
and slumps now, in inverted commas it is true
but that is only because the words still
species of joke when so tricked out. The canons
OF good taste and the unwritten laws OF edi-
torial decorum require that to every leading
article there shall be affixed two original wit
ticisms. and the writer knows that for some
time past these words, quoted. have fulfilled all
requirements. and that they Will probably
tinue to do for a further period for jokes
live to a green old age in England. This is
quite as It should be, but all things have end
Some day constant reader will find that he
has seen the jokes before, and will write to say
so; perhaps the editor will suddenly realize
that inverted commas in page are unsightIy.
In either case the poor writer will have to erase
his quotation marks, and rack his brain for new
witticisms. and slump and boom will become
part of our language.