Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-12-20

THE GRAMMARLESS WORLD.
Yale Professor on Ignorance of Col
Iege Students as to Coreret Speech
and Writing.

ale PROFESSOR OF ISiof a''Sc VI wv
ege Students as to Coreret Speech
and Writing.
Professor Henry NJ. MacCracken OF the
English department of Yale has set the
university agog by his severe criticism
before a State convention of school
teachers of college students ignorance
of English and the English dictionary.
Professor MacCracken advised that, in
stead of spending SO much time on ex-
traneous matters, students in colleges
and high schools should study the die
tionary; and he advocated that every
student be obliged to carry one.
Professor MacCracken is the son OF
former Chancellor MacCracken of the
New York University, In his support of
his statement that Yale men are strange
| ly ignorant of the use of English he gave
some instances of definitions handed in
to him by students in the Sheffield Seien-
tific School since the university opened
this fall He said that in the face OF
| strong opposition the English depart
ment of Sheffield now required that stu
dents should not only possess dicton-
ary but should know how to handle IL
as well. He continued in part as fol-
| lows:
1.-The study of words is the only means
by which a student may acquire the dis
| tionary habit. When the freshman class
! this year entered the Sheffield Seienuhe
| School less than 20 per cent of the stu
dents were equipped with a dictionary OF
| any sort, and of this number most all
/ had an utterly Inadequate apparatus
| The requirement by the English faculty
| in Shelf that every student must possess
and be prepared to handle an adequate
! dictionary had been strenuously opposed
| by every possible device which can be
| contrlved by unwilling students; but tc
| no purpose For the first time in ms
| own experience of Yale every student
has a dictionary. The habit may come
| later
! This week l offered some simple tests
! in definitions to college juniors and
/ freshmen 1 received answers like the
| following:
! AN agnostic is one who believes jus;
what he thinks.
| IAN infidel is one who has a religion
of his own
- Pride is the habit of modesty and
self-control.'
"A man is playmate when he is lazy
like A-IgsE
These definitions l pick at random
/ from hundreds. 1t is not merely thai
the words are strange to the students; Il
| is that they have never learned the cate
| gories to which belong the various terms
| toward which their attention has beer
called. In general, then, | feel justified
| in saying that with the average student
the dictionary habit does not exist.
But there are many minor advantages
to be gained by the greater emphasis
upon word study. AS ones vocabulary
increases the horizon enlarges, and one
! becomes more the master of ones self. Il
is even fair to say that mentality may
be actually determined by the size o.
ones vocabulary. 1t may be suggested
as a further addition to the Wen known
mental tests for maturity
Right here lies an extraordinary diff
ference between the American and tnj
English school boy. While the forme
far surpasses his cousin over sea, il
| what we call practical knowIedge, tht
latter's mastery of his native tongue i:
| incredibly superior. The conclusion il
inevitable, that at present the steady in
| crease of vocabulary in high school stu
dents is not one of the chief concerns o.
our departments of composition.
Much has recently been said abou
the slovenly pronunciation of English IL
America. There is no better correctiv,
for faulty pronunciation and spelling
than directing the students attention
upon the study of definitions. The chiel
fault of Americans in pronunciations /!
| the surring of the minor syllables II
words. Concentration upon single word:
| brings out these minor syllables as new
discoveries.
| zone word on the practical effects ol
all this: How shall we teach definition
| Let me suggest some ways which, hav:
found useful in my own teaching.
First. let every student bring his die
tionary to every class and every confer
ence. Let him memorize-although
know modern pedagogy rs opposed tc
memorizing-let him memorize, 1 say
the derivations and the histories of q
certain related set of words. Let hin
| be carefully trained In the phrasing o.
| questions for debate.
| Let him write sentences and recas
them in other ways. Let him study the
work of Lincoln and other great writers
in their use of terms Let him bt
/ taught to read aloud, slowly and with
great emphasis, the prose work of some
eloquent author. Let him repeat on pa
| per the story of some novelist, in hi:
own words, and then compare his rem.
dering with that of his original to sec
| what words his own version lacks
Let him study the phraseology of oul
laws and of the votes in the Board o!
| Aldermen, OF the messages of our Presi
dent to Congress and let him observe
| with what care in the choice of words
| every article in law Is drawn. Let hin
| be put upon the simple old devices OF
| synonyms, antonyms and hononyms. lie
| him be stimulated by prizes offered fol
ten best translations of passages in other
languages. In short, let him be drilled
| with every possible device which shall in
volve, first, the actual use of the tools
with which his life as a student is tc
be spent, and secondly, the concentra-
| ton of his interest and attention upor
4 them, as upon the one fundamental need
of his education. New Yors Sun.
OWED TRAVEL MAC nANHERniIS