Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-07-06
WOULD IMPROVE OUR
METHODS OF SPEECH
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION MAY
ESTABLISH BRANCH
Street Car Conductors Talk Jargon
Unlntelligible to Strangers, and
other Citizens Need Course
of Tuition

The National Speech Arts associa-
ton, which has been organized in Chi
cago for many years and recently had
it's seventeenth convention there, is
likely to open up a branch society In
Los Angeles. A number of Garvanza
women, it is said, are promoting the
project.
Garvanza is a kind of artistic suburb
of Los Angeles. 1t is where many OF
the literary lights, artists and bone
mians live. With Garvanza enterprise
back of 1t the National Speech Arts
branch here ought to do a prosperous
business in the way of injecting aes-
theticism into our modus linguae.
Street car conductors, according to
common gossip, are responsible for
this move in the direction of pure Eng
fish. Just what pure English" is
seems questionable. The Engliahman
says it's English in England, and the
American says it's English in America,
and neither one of them speaks 1t the
same way. But that's another narra-
tive.
BY way of brevity the car conductors
on the Garvanza line, it is said, have
been eliminating some of the necessary
Verbiage in their enunciations.
avenue Sixty-four" sounds real Bos-
tonian. 1t has a bewitching twinge to
1t; but when the conductors merely
call out "Sixty-four' 1t sounds pie
beian.
It's worse than this, however. The
average conductor when he arrives at
Avenue Fifty calls out the avenue in
full, but from there on to Avenue Sixty
he merely calls out the second numeral
two. three, four" ETC., and as there
are a great many tourists in Los An
geles to whom such language is worse
than Esquimau, the Speech Arts peo-
ple will demand that every car con-
ductor call out the full name OF each
street.
Most of the men, it is said, pronounce
Marmion way as Mormon way; Yo-
semitic street as "Yossemight" Vallejo
street as "Valley-joe," etc, all of
which has a disquieting effect on the
artistic nerves of the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Languages;
hence the object of the National
Speech Arts association.
There was an informal meeting the
other day to discuss the subject. A
stranger dropped in at the door, I'M
certainly, and asked:
"Is 'iss were thuh takers re meet
in'?"
The woman at the door gazed down
at him disdainfully.
''This, sir" she replied, sis an In
formal gathering for the purpose of
discussing, pro and, con, the advisa-
bility of formulating society to be
conducted in conjunction with the
National Speech Arts association"
The man wilted. Finally he edged a
little nearer.
"Kin-a get-a seat on tn inside?"
Undoubtedly you will find 1t possible
to procure a. seat" she replied, more
sraveIv "aud I am inclined to believe
YOU will find 1t infinitely advanta-
geous."
But the man backed out. The last of
II was a little too much. and he ran to
the nearest drug store and sat at the
soda fountain.
"Gimme ice cream soda-quick!"
he exclaimed.
a'Beg your pardon" said the clerk,
"I was unable to understand your
words"
But the man had gone.
Further details of the organization,
IL II is completed. will be published in
The Herald later