Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1916-05-12
UNIVERSITY LETTER.
why SHOULD SPEECH Be GRAMMAR.
CAlLY C0RRECT7

| by. III Ddfiu DlSHOB, I-fUltSSOT Ol English
Language and Literature.
1t is repeatedly stated that the
speech of the supposedly educated
people to-day is not nearly so free
grammatical errors as was the speech
of the educated generation ago.
There IS truth in the statement.
The explanation lies chiefly in two
conditions. In the first place. the
democrotic movement in education
has resulted in turning out as college
graduates much larger proportion
of men and women who come from
the homes OF the relatively litter
ate Their habits of speech have
been fixed by their home associations.
Careful correction of grammatical
errors on the part of the teachers
will not suffice in many cases, to
overcome these fixed habits. More
over, school associates. in larger
proportion than ever before, from
grammar grades through college,
use the same ungrammatical forms,
aud thus make an influence tending
to overcome the instruction of the
class room
In the second place, the scientific
study of language has revealed the
fact that language Itself is demo-
cratic. That is to say, usage, not
authority as found in grammars and
dictionaries, has controlled the de-
vel )pment of speech forms. So
teachers of to-day, with this view
OF language in the background of
their minds, have unconsciously
taken a more lenient attitude to-
wards devations from best usage,
and are not so strict and earnest as
they once were in seeking TO over
come habits of ungrammatical
speech.
A young man, college graduate,
now teaching in one Of our best high
schools, tells me that he considers
grammatical errors as OF no conse-
lqnence. He justifies himself in this
heresy by asserting that language
serves its entire purpose in express
ing thought. Speech Astounding in
grammatical error, ns says, is quite
as easily and clearly understood as is
the language that is dramatically
fautless. The particular contention
of this young man, considered apart,
is not so very far from true. Ad-
hitting this much. 1t is Still the
business of all teachers to seek to
correct bad grammer. In limiting
the function OF language to mere
con veyance of sense, this young man
revealed a very narrow view of the
service of speech, as we'll as a very
inadequate conception of the values
of life. Our speech has developed IN
to the fine instrument it IS throuhg
instincts far more profound and com
pick than the sense for the merely
practical These instincts the up-
lettered have shared; they have had
in their degree the sense for logical.
for beautiful, and for emotional ex-
preston. But it is particularly true
that language, the most fundamen-
tai of social institutions has been en-
riched and strengthened and made
beautiful by the conscientious feel
lngs for all these ends or the part OF
the educated the teachers and the
writers of our history. 1t is our OBJ.
legation. as it was theirs. to make
the best usage prevail.
But from the practical stand
point attention To correct speech is
quite worth while. The young man
who is making his way with his col
lege education and resource; is dis
counted ii his speech aboupds in
grammatical errors. So the neck tie