The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-10-11
knows full we'll that no Richmond negro

knows full we'll that no Richmond negro
ever used such lingo as that,
The News Leader, of course, agrees
with The Times dispatch that the North
err negro lingo, so-called, is mannfac-
tured article. and is not used by any ne
i groes anywhere In the South.
But the News Leader proceeds:
"As a matter of fact, there Is no negro
| dialect, broadly speaking. The negro FOL
lows III his own way the pronunciatlohs'
infections and methods OF constructor
4 which he hears are4,nd him. In the coast
section of the Carolinas. Georgia and
| Florida, where the white people are
! 'buckra,' the white man Is 'mosscr,' or
| 'morsser,' the so short rs to be almost
a broadened a. a little further UP the
! country, and in Mississippi and Arkansas
! the 'massa' comes distinctly and the dr.
] ferences illustrated in this one familiar
| word are to be found In the general pro-
! nuncintions. a tobacco country virginia
J negro would hardly be understood in the
| rice fields. His conversation is marked
by the dignity of delibera ton, and there
| is q fullness and strength IN his tones
! and In the sound of his words very dii,
| ferent from the rather quick hasty ana
foreign sounding method OF MS ssaco"s'
b, other
"Of course. the Creole negro IN Louis.
| iana has a special dialect Of his own,
People who have knocked around the
world much have encountered negroes WIN
every accent and variety of Elpperlsh
known to the world, including occasion.
ally one with a distinct and clearly
marked Irish brogue or gabbling Penn
sylvania Dutch. Therefore, 1t Is as IN
appropriate to talk Of negro dlalect as
of Southern accent or an American
accent"
We did not make the point-blank as
sertion that no negro ever used the "ora
"rnassa." We said we had never hearo
any negro use it, nor had we ever seen
any man who had, although we had ire
ouontly asked the question of those VINO
were supposed to know. Among these
was Mr.. Polk Miller, who took the trouble
to write It down that the negro never
said "massa" Nor did we know. unul
informed by the News Leader that there
was any word in use among the negroes
OF the South approaching It, But tahe
It that "massa".is corruption OF mos
SER" as our contemporary SUGGESTS, ana
we are thankful for the information. or
course, negroes in different localities use
different lingo, but we cannot agree
with tho News Leader that there is no
such thing as negro dialect. Take the
writings of Joel Chandler Harris, FRANK
Stanton Tom Page and Polk Miller, ana
therein will be found distinct negro
dialect which is practically the same IN
al; their writings, showing that the dialect
in Georgia does not materially differ from
that in Virginia. and we know that
the dialect in North Carolina is IN all
essentials the same as that in Virginia.
There are variations here and there. and
in some parts Of the far SCUM there Is
a marked difference, but we state
the rule. and it cannot be denied that
the dialect, as employed by the writer's
whom we have named, was the dialect or
the great body Of Southern negroes before
the emancipation. But, however that
may be, 1t is entirely certain that the So
called dialect of the Northern race Is a
rank counterfeit, which Is readily detect
ed by any Southern man who was raised
| with negro slaves.