Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-02

ground go out in the loft
One night the rats heard a great noise in the
loft. 1t was q very dreary old loft
Ehe roof let in the rain, the beams and
rafters were all rotten, so that the place was
rather unsafe. At last one of the joists gave
way and the beams FELL with one end on the
floor The walls shook and all the rats hair
stood on end with fear and horror. This won't
do" said the chief, I'VE must leave this place"
So they sent out scouts to search for a new
home.
In the night the scouts came back and said
they had found an old coop of a barn where
there would be room and board for them all
AT once the chief gave the order: Form in
line!" The rats crawled out of their holes and
stood on the floor in long line. Just then the
old rat caught sight of young Grip-that was
the name of the Shirker. He wasn't in the line
Gnd he wasn't exactly outside it.; he stood just
by it. why don't you speak?" said the old rat
Coarsey OF course, you are coming?" Il
don't know" said Grip calmly. THE idea Of
atI Why, you don't think it's safe do you?" 'I
am not certain" said Grip undaunted, 1.-THE roof
may not come down yet" well" said the old
rat, I'VE can't wait for you to join us. Right
about face! March!" And the long line marched
out of the loft while the young rat watched
them.
II think III go tomorrow" he said to himself,
+but then, again, don't know; it's so nice and
snug here. think I'll go back to my hole I'M
der the log for bit, just to make up my mind"
III.
came beams, rafterS, josts-the whole roof
Next morning-it was foggy day-some men
came to look at the loft. They thought it odd
that it wasn't haunted by rats. But at last
one of them happened to move a board and
caught sight Of young rat quite dead, half
In and half out of his hole. Thus the shirker
had his due.
1t is obvious that this tale was not chosen for
such frequent repetition because of its literary
qualities. 1t is o clever arrangement Of vowel
sounds and key words whose pronunciation
finds the greatest variation in different sections
Of the country. It can be readily recognized,
for instance, that such words as home caught
board, new, roof, asked, aunt, calmly, idea,
choice, fear and horror are often given sucn
characteristic RECOMMENDATIONS that each one
alone, is enough to reveal the locality from
which person comes, or at least the region
whose speech has been most influential in shap-
ang his own. When the reading Of the tale Of
the unfortunate rat has been completed the
speaker is asked, as matter Of record, to say
where he was born. where he went to school
and to give any other details Of his life that
may occur to him.
study of the more than $50 records already
made corroborates some interesting facts about
the way in which various racial elements in our
population have shifted from one section Of the
United States to another, either impressing
their own version Of the English language on
the original inhabitants or perhaps discarding
their versions for the local patois. Prof AyreS
and Prof. Greet point out that our Eastern
coasts, generally speaking, were settled by peo-
pie from the south Of England, which accounts
Ror the frequent Similarites between the speech
Of certain Southerners and BoStonians, notably
the Harvard A." The regions back from thu
coast were pioneered by Scotch and Irish with
their harder and less slurring RECOMMENDATIONS.
Hhe Middle West, settled largely by men of New
england, preserved the accents Of New Hamu-
shire and Vermont
NNHE tremendous size of Texas shows conSid-
cradle variations in speech. In the cotton
sections OF the country, populated by the in
habitants of Alabama and neighborin9 States
1aEho went there and took their Negroes with
Them, the Southern "r" prevails. In the cattle
sections settled by men from the North and
Middle West, an entirely different speech Is
characteristic. An amusing example of this
Hact was AFFORDED by student who was brought
IN by the scouts as q good sample of the Texas
cotton country. Under the excitement, how
ever, Of speaking into the microphone he
reverted to earlier habits and gave an excellent
demonstration Of the speech of the cow
country. Later he revealed that he was born
and brought up in the cattle section but had
9ater assumed the speech of his friends in the
cotton belt.
In addition to these dialect records. Prof.
Ayres and Prof. Greet are making permanent
photographic library for Columbia University
sof the speech Of well known men and women
Sbf today fact which ought to fill many of
S3hem with terror, as most of us would prefer
70 hand down to posterity not our frequently
disconnected and incoherent vocal efforts but
sEhe more polished products of our pens, duly
sed1ted. Many Of these speeches are taken
$airectly from the radio addresses
Thus Columbia has for all time exactly as
Ehey were spoken, the speeches of Edison
FEinstein and owen D. Young at Mr. Ford,s
Eecent celebration in Edisons honor; speeches
by Premier Macdonald while he was in this
knaIntrv. the nf