The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1906-03-15
USE AND ABUSE
Of Some Common English Words
and Terms-Paper Read by Mr.. E.
q. Butler Before the Contemporary
Club of Henderson.

some tOHllUOll L1SlSu hOito on"
TERMS" read before the Contempt
rary Club OF Henderson at its last
meeting.
1t should be said, however, that
the oral pronunciation OF some OF
the words employed, conveys clear
er conception Of the proper sounds
OF the vOwels than is shown here, be-
cause the outfit OF the GOLD LEAF
does not include accent marks and
characters for showing the various
vowel sounds. 1t is intended that
italicized syllables should be empha
sized With this explanation the
reader will get better understand
ing of the correct pronunciation and
delicate shading Of the words ard
terms used. Mr. Buffers paper fol-
lows:
Language has been aptly styled, THE
Vehicle Of Thought Now if we select
suitable words, arrange them properly
in the construction of sentences, give
them the right accent, and an enuncia-
ton appropriate to each-is not this to
supply the oil which keeps the wheels
from creaking, and to furnish all that is
needful to make the vehicle through
out most pleasant conveyance OF Orr
ideas? However, in undertaking to
avoid popular errors of speech includ
ing INSTRUMENTATION. too strict con-
| fOrmity to the rules OF syntax, or to the
teachings of orthoepy may subject Us to
| the charge Of pedantry.
But while trying, on the one hand, to
shun this Scylla-is it excusable for us,
on the other hand, to allow ourselves to
be engnlfed in the Charybdis OF indiffer-
ence? Should we not rather, as beacon
| lights, shine upon the dark places, and
help to give them INTEL ectual enlight-
eminent?
Loleridge defines pedantry as The use
Of words unsuitable to the time, place
and company | trust that this cul-
tured assembly will not stamp as pedan-
| tic anything said in its presence, ii the
tendency OF the utterancc be to uprOOt
popular error, and to foster in its stead
accuracy OF word. phrase or sentence.
Still, launch timidly upon the sea OF
your criticism, realizing that my wordy
craft use and abuse laden may en-
counter perils quite as great as are those
| that beset the pedant.
But, to my subiect-and first | invite
your attention to n list Of words. many
| of which are frequently mispronounced.
With nearly all Of these words there is
| no conflict Of authorities regarding pro-
nunciation. A few of them have small
| suppOrt-comparatiye favor of q
pronunciation different from that herein
| given, or in addition to it.
| Let us begin with the following mono
| syllables-bulge, bulk, catch, seine,
| doth, great, hoist shaft parse plague,
| and what We sometimes hear as fol-
1 To 81. t,,x oil tI,n
| hUl!: OF tobacco weighs two hundred
| pounds, enormously giving the in those
| words the sound which that letter has in
| the word pulHwhereas it she uld be pro-
| nounced as in hull. Let us try to
| ketch some fish in a sane. A in the
word catch should have it's short
sound as heard in rat, and the name OF a
| fishing net spelled seine should be
| identical in sound with the familiar word
s-e-e-n-seen. Though, the river in
France of like spelling is properly called
| sane Israel doth not know, my people
| doth not consider. Here the so should
have the sound OF short as in cut
and not of 90 in both. \ man of gret
| strength. In great the "a" should
have the sound of that letter in fate, and
the should be silent. H-i-s-t-e the win
| dow, OF in hoist should have the
sound of that diphthong in joist and
| moist.
We hear that both shavs Of the buggy
| were broken. The word should be
spoken as it is written shafts rhyming
with RATS, waits. \ child is told to
pare the nouns, verbs, &c. The letter
81 should have, in this word, its soft or
kissing sound, as heard in horse, or as
the letter &c in farce A grievous
pleg afflicted the people The word
should rhyme with The Hague, Hollands
famous city.
| Whit is your name? The "a in
what should be sounded like 20" in
not. Let us recapitulate, and say, a
wall buLges: bulk of tobacco: "u'' as
that letter in hull. We catch fish in a
seine. Israel doth not know. ''o'' as ''u''
in cut A man of great strength Hoist
the window. Both shafts were broken.
| We parse the words of a sentence, q
plague atflicts, and what list of
misprOnunciations.
| The following dissyllables fare not
well in the mouths of some-viz: Ex-
press, excess. rebate, expert, hotel, ex-
haust, harass, squalor. almond and
trestle. The first five of these words fire.
quently have the accent placed upon
their first syllabes. We are told that
the package came by express, that for
the excess of baggage the passenger had
to pay one dollar; that another passen-
ger was allowed a rebate of fifty cents
on account of overcharge; that an ex-
pert was sent for to put in the compi-
Gated machinery; that the hotel was
burned last night. You say that | will
ey aust your patience when | simply
| egg haust it. The victorious army tries
l 70 no hor fro e.
One meaning of foulness is Squalor.
a. like that letter in day never sQual-or
like "a" in pallor, nor squolOr like
"a" in swallow. The almond tree
and fruit should be called aTInOnd
not almond. \ skeleton bridge or a
carpenters bench. is tres-tle, agreeing
in sound with pestle. 1t is not trustle.
| We give next some words OF three syl-
tables, and show how they are abused, -
viz: Finances. GOndola. Bronchitis.
miscOnstrue, umbrella. aItercate. alter7l-
ate, disffanchise and deficit Often i'm
properly pronounced, finances. gondola,
:. | broncheetis. misconstrUe, umbrella. all
tercate alternate, disfranchiSe and de-
felt. Let us try to Illustrate in Il word
picture the correct pronunciation of these
as follows: Not only did my finan-ces
suffer last evening when paid five dol
lars Tor a ride on the lake In n gOndOla,
but exposure to the damp air supern-
| duced bronchitis, and next morning
while | was in frame of mind not alto
Sether pleasant, called upon friend to
settle an account of long standing. We
disagreed about the matter and began
to atercate, each seeming to misc0nstrue
the meaning OF what the other said To
, avoidfurther npleasantnessItook my hat
, and umbrella aud walked away through
. alternate sunshine and showers-con-
Guiding blindly that my friend ought to
be decitizenzed, actually DISTINGUISHED
because he could not be made to see that
the ledger balance showed the deficit to
lie at his door. (The last syllable OF
disfranchise should rhyme with the first
syllable of blizzard.)
We will close our Il Sc and Abuse OF
Words, with regard to theirpronuncia-
ton, by pointing out q few polysylla-