The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1904-06-16

| contend that use has made them ad-
missable if not correct. AS we'll say
that two plus two equals five. "It is /"
shat is he," must always stand as the
correct forms, and mere assertion can
not make wrong agreements right. 1t is
true that usage is the law of language;
but there must be some standard
established, and the statement should
be qualified. Good usage, the usage of
those who, by education, ability, and
authority, are qualified to stamp the
forms with their approval,-this and
this alone should be the court of refer
ence. The same fault incorrect agree
ment) is exemplified in, "between you
and l." The object of proposition
must alaOoys be in the objective case.
1t is we'll here to point out the distinc-
tion between the particles "between"
and "among." "Between," its very
derivation, signifies 'stwo;" "among"
should be used only when more than
two are in question. sHe divided the
money between John and James," "He
divided the profits among thirty work
men," In the sentence, "Do you OBJ
ject to me going to Chicago?" "me"
should be "my." Agreement is again
at fault. The superfiuous Introduction
of "got" in conjunction with the verb
"to have" is another frequent error, as
in, 81 have got to 60 home" And
again, we find the indefinite article
superfuously used after "sort off,
"kind Of" as, "He wore kind of IL
brown coat"
A great many people and most news
papers are guilty of using "hung" as
the word to describe an execution.
The past tense of the verb "to hang"
when personally applied is changed. y
Consequently man is changed by the
neck" "To learn" and "tO teach" are
often used indiscriminately. One learns
by being taught and the two verbs are
not interchangeable. "Leave me alone
: is frequently heard when the meaning
is obviously, "let me alone"
Under this head may be discussed
the exact use of words. This often.
times developes into matter of grave
Importance. Let your words be sc
9 selected that each one conveys exactly
? the meaning intended-no more, nc
4 less. It is we'll to remember that a
Q synonym is not word with exactly
|. the meaning of another, but one that
: has similar meaning. There are nc
Q two words in the English language
t that convey precisely the same idea
= The loose uses of such words as "grand,
lawful" "nice.' etc, are examplifica
: tions of the violation of this principle
Q "Nice," whose real meaning is very
/ nearly that of "deIicate," bids fair tC
finally lose its identity and to take its
e place with other words that have haG
f their meanings changed by constant
o misuse. In the following sentence il
i is employed correctly: "That is nice
l. distinction" "Prevent" is an example
# of word changed in meaning by con
stant error in use. 1t originally mean
t. "to 60 before"
J. An Athenian orator who misprO
IL nounced word was Kissed by hi
# cultured audience. Many politica
D, speaker in the United States, on sucl
d ground as this, would be barred from
the platform.
G. The tendency in English is to throw
,e the accent or stress as far back as possi
IS BILE from the end of the word. However
le this is not by any means a rigid rule
r The difficulties in pronunciation tha
1T present themselves to the native born
If English-speaking citizen are numerou
le enough. What, then, must they be t
in the foreigner who is attempting t.
If learn the language? He begins, TO
le instance, on the "o-u-g-h" series, and b
finds that Dough is pronounced "bow
4. and trough" "ruff," and so on throug
j. the many different sounds of this singl
ST combination. He cannot reason b
N analogy-in fact, he cannot reason a
is all-and he finds it matter of pur
- memory and perseverance.
r. While correct spelling may be cult
is vated more or less easily, it is a fac
gs that to certain extent, spoilers lik
of poets are born, not made. Some of th
a best educated and the most widely rea
rs are guilty of bad spelling.
to Modern methods of phonetics do nc