The Farmville herald and farmer-leader. (Farmville, Va.) 1934-1957, 1956-03-30
Lecture Sees
Johnny Losing
Speech Powers
Jumbled .Jargon
Seen Cutting
Idea Exchange

uniring the ability to cypress idea
clearly. pointedly and in godd
phraseoloay because hon,ba"d.
ment of jar gon from outside the
classroom Influence is cr'nblina
the work of teacher inside, a
Princeton professor Of literature
said here Tuesday.
Dr.. William Thorn. Holmes Pro
fessor Of Bellies Lettres at Prince
ton University counted the invading
sq"adrons leading the lombard
ment in an address to Longwood
College students on The Well of
English Now Defile d. or Why
Johnny Can't Write. Either -
:. Realistic and whimsical, DR..
Thorn did not profess to see Am
erica's doom in the offing. but he
did express concern over what he
hears happening to U. S. modes
Of speech. The gertrude of fact
must be the beginning of wisdom.
but what purpose is served if one
cannot communicate thoughts and
ideas" he asked
Faith In Students
Were it not for my faith in stu
dents. now would be either re-
signed or cynical. from what l hear
from them or read in their pap
ers", he declared. He added the
reason for, his concern: America
desperately needs honorable men.
but ones who can persuade others
to their way Of thinking!"
DR.. Thorn said the traditional
marking of teachers in correcting
DR.. Thorn said the traditional
working of teachers in correcting
students papers: sp. spelling; gr.
grammar and cob. Conference
have lost all meaning. "One can no
longer attack such involved pro-
blemS with such simple tools" he
said
There are five "culprits' now
part of students everyday life. that
are making him too wordy. mixed
in his metaphors. talking in ex-
clamation marks and generally in
coherent. They are he said. of
ficialese. the hot-rod style of mod
Crn day news magazin- writing:
advertising style writing: the de-
based metaphors of writers-for- at
fention: the all-pervading use of
jargon words. and the present day
specialization in curriculums.
Age Of Hand Out
This is the age OF the news hand
out. he said, and all of them are
expressed in what he called of
ficialese' Government bureaus.
state papers. political announce
ments. industrial observations now
are written as though the Inter
minable voice of the age"is speak
ing This writing is supposed to be
authoritative and accepted in whole
at once
"Officialese is the type of writ
ing that can be cut thirds. In
fact, that's the way you recognize
it,. he declared
Magazines such as Time. Life.
and others are responsible for the
hot-rod style. he said Every day,
we read this 'surging, break away
$50. horsepower style. After time
of it. students begin to believe that
rroSe must never be written in a
quiet vein or in gentle repose, he
said.
The ad writer's resort on every
occasion to SuperlativeS-n newest,
latest. most powerful. strongest
cheapest. That is a third influence
seen by Dr.. Thorn. Another subtle
influence he called the DECEASED
metaphor or writer for attent-
ion use of the startling phrase
with products that promise a new
day: things that "open the door
of promise. gadgets that offer "a
new hour of hope
JargOn Words
Present day writing styles also
introduce another influence. the lar
gon word. he said. These re-
pcatcd over and over until they
duh and diSColor speech Such
words as median. percentage wise
percentile. adjusted
Tho la Of ipf1,,cpcA no conc &c ON.
riculum specialization so charac-
teristic of our time With its in
VOWED learning and separate vo
Cabularies. such specialization has
separated people by eliminating {
common language The student OF
literature isn't understood by the
physicist. the physicist is gone te
the psychologists the psychologist
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