Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-15
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

The Society for Grammatical Reform
will now come to order.
The meeting will be opened with a
reading from Carl Sandburg's "Abra-
ham Lincoln: The Prairie Years"
On page II OF the new dollar edition
which a great many people will well
come, no doubt-We and the following
His folks talked like other folks in
the neighborhood They called them
selves pore people. A man learned IN
books was dedicated What was GER
tain was 'sartin.' The syllables came
through the nose joints were 'jints !;
fruit spilled instead of spelling; in
corn planting time they drapped' the
seeds. They went on errands and
'brung' things back.
Their dogs follered' the coons.
Flannel was hannen,' q bandanaa a
'bandanner, a chimney 'chimbly,' a
shadow 'shadder,' and mosquitoes
plain 'skeeters.' A creek was a 'crick,
a cover 'kiver.'
"A man silent was 'say-nothin'
They asked, Have ye et?' There were
dialogues. Kin YEP No. CANT Ano
!. II a woman had an idea OF doing some
thing she said I had Idly to- They
made their own words. Those who
spoke otherwise didn't belong were
| putin on This was their wilderness
| lingo; 1t had gnarled bones and gaunt
hours Of their lives In 1t"
Many a person present was brought
up on "chimbly,' and ''skeeters," and
"crick."
J Now, many years later, in a great
city. some Of lis still have qualms OF
conscience when we so far repudiate
our birthplace as to talk about chin
, neyS" and mosquitoes" and creeks.
We know those pronunciations to bs
! correct. but is correctness, after all, al
there is to language?
| Certainly not!
| Saving what one wants to say max
! ing cne's self understood. must remain
! the primary purpose of words.
Many an ungrammatical person has
a perfect genius for putting himself on
record Enthusiastically.
There is, too, a flavor to certain
words. which, although it may be rather
| strong. and smack perhaps too much
Of the street. nevertheless has in II
| picturesque qualities.
| These qualities gradually make them
Iselves felt. and in time the formerly
objectionable word becomes tolerated
and finally admitted without question
! into the lexicon of the proper.
= y
! But we have before US ladies and
! gentleman a larger sue iect than words
as great as they are. being the working
material of writing and speaking.
We have grammar itself to conside
| and certain ungrammatic forms &c
| take up.
These are clsmoring for our atten-
! ton.
The prestige OF the Society for Gram
! NAUTICAL Reform is such, We like &c
/ think. that once this great body has
I put itself on record as being in favor
| OF certain forms. The remainder OF
| the world will follow
We have five grammatical mistakes
which are so often made, and by the
very best people. that VIC present then
to the society for consideration.
ITS me-" is the first OF these.
In million homes, when the chill
dren come in late, a voice will call
Who's that?"
And million young voices will an.
swer, ITS me-"
Not a voice will reply. ITS
mother"
! And why not. pray?
Because all of those Youngsters. will
the unerring instincts of youth for tn
picturesque and the interesting. know
that there Is something at once highl
musical and highly natural about 1T
me-" which the correct form lacks.