The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-04-11
WAVELETS
BY ED LEAMY

IMPINTARIS INOKENUNIS IN
MUDzEALzAR INKLAYNUNNAR.
Keep your seats, ladies and gentle
men, the man who daily perpetrates
this column has not gone suddenly
out of his wits. The just-typed con-
glomeration of the alphabet is not
the rawlings of an overburdended
mind. 1t is simple statement of
facts, statement which any first
grade student will be able to trans
late for you into more understand
able English without any difficulty
whatsoever. For that matter you
may recall the sentence yourself, il
your memory, like mine can go back
to the days when you were very
young. 1t is all very simple
Admittedly had forgotten all
about it, and might never have
recalled it, had not recent popular
song hit-which for a while kept
jumping at you from the radio and
elsewhere - brought it tumbling
helter-s kelter from the store room
of recollections. The hit, of course,
Marry DoatS.
Now lot of people have spent
much time and trouble, and in some
cases, much ink and paper to de-
plore the popularity of such a song,
on the ground that it tends to en-
courage slip-shod enunciation and
pronunciation among the young.
Far be it from me to criticize
these people, who doubtless are my
betters. but I don't think songs like
Marry Doats, and the slanguage
of Ed (Archie) Gardner over the
Duffys Tavern program, are going
to have much adverse effect on the
speaking habits of these same
young as they grow older. remem-
Der my own parents anxiety over
slang used when youngster, and
the pig-Latin in which I and my
companions INDUCED. I have a ire
mendous quantity Of faults when it
comes to speaking English, writing
English, and pronouncing English
words properly. But the fault lies
not so much with songs like Marry
Doats, and the slang I used as a
boy, and the slang use today, as
with the English language itself. I
have often wished that a really
simplified form of spelling became
popular. Once, while one of the edi-
tors of the defunct "Litery Digest"
I encountered a modified form for
spelling English words to which I
had to adhere. But when I came
across the word woes in a poem
which as literary editor was re-
printing. I rebelled. 1t turned up in
such shape that not only was it
connotation completely obscured,
but Immediately all slight enthu-
siasim I might have had for Messrs.
Funk and Wagnalls' idea flew out
the window to vanish in the East
River little way beyond. For the
word, in the proof was reading
appeared as-wos. That I was able
to have it respelled according to
old style was minor triumph. I'm
sure a lot of people disagree with
me on the whole matter. ..
Now persons disagree on how
words ought to be spelled, but their
disagreement is as nothing to the
disagreement of people over how
words should be pronounced.
For long while the pronuncia-
ton of words has fascinated me,
while it has also driven me to dis
traction. Words are my trade. I
ought to know something about
them. I know practically nothing,
and that's why I'm glad to have in
by possession book put out by
the Thomas Y. Crowell Company,
$3.50 pages, $275) who are also the
publishers of The American Thesau-
rus Of Slang and of Roget's Inter-
national Thesaurus-which already
I possess, but still have to borrow
Jim Moore's copy in the office,
when I'm at loss for a word. That
iS-the correct word. Leamy Is
never at a loss for A word. .
The name Of the book Is NBC
Handbook Of Pronunciation, COM
piled by James F. Bender, with an
introduction by James Rowland
Angel. As a note on the dust
cover explains it: The book has
evolved from the exciting needs Of
the National BroadcaSting Company
for book that they could hand to
their announcers which would as
sure correct, standard pronunciation