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be laid up for a week or so. One pitcher was batted out of the

       box."

      This narrative may seem commonplace to school-boys, but to their mothers and sisters it must seem alarming.

Our second conclusion, therefore, is that a person who wishes to be understood must avoid words and phrases that are not understood, and understood in the same sense, in every part of the country, and in every class or profession.[3]

Reputable Use.—Let us examine now the effect produced by a third kind of expression, namely, words and phrases "not used by writers and speakers of established reputation."[4] Let us take as our illustrations the familiar expressions, "He done it" and "Please set in this seat." Each of these expressions is common at the present time, and its meaning is instantly clear to any one who speaks English. But these expressions, not being used by well-informed and careful speakers, produce in the mind of a well-informed bearer an impression of vulgarity like that which we get from seeing a person eat with his knife. In language, as in manners and fashions, the law is found in the custom of the best people; and persons who wish to be classed as cultivated people must speak and write like cultivated people. There is no moral wrong in a person's saying "Please set in this seat," and if he does say it he will probably be understood; but persons who use this or any other expression which is not in reputable use run the risk of being classed as ignorant, affected, or vulgar.

      Good Use.—It appears, therefore, that words and phrases, in order to be proper expressions for use in English prose, (1) must be in common use at the present time; (2) they must be used, and used in the same sense, in every part of the country, and in every class and profession; (3) they must be expressions used by writers and speakers of established reputation. In other words, our expressions must be in present, national, and reputable use. Expressions which fulfil these three conditions are said to be in good use.

      The next question that presents itself to one who wishes to use English correctly is, How am I to know what words and expressions are in good use?

      Conversation and Good Use.—Good use cannot be determined solely by observing the conversation of our associates; for the chances are that they use many local expressions, some slang, and possibly some vulgarisms. "You often hear it" is not proof that an expression is in good use.

      Newspapers and Good Use.—Nor can good use be learned from what we see in newspapers. Newspapers of high rank contain from time to time, especially in their editorial columns, some of the best modern prose, and much literature that has become standard was first printed in periodicals; but most of the prose in newspapers is written necessarily by contributors who do not belong to the class of "speakers or writers whom the world deems the best." As the newspaper in its news records the life of every day, so in its style it too frequently records the slang of daily life and the faults of ordinary conversation. A newspaper contains bits of English prose from hundreds of different pens, some skilled, some unskilled; and this jumble of styles does not determine good use.

No one Book or Writer Decisive.—Nor is good use to be learned from our favorite author, unsupported by other authority; not even, as we have seen, from the English Bible, when it stands alone. No writer, even the greatest, is free from occasional errors; but these accidental slips are not to be considered in determining good use. Good use is decided by the prevailing usage of the writers whose works make up permanent English literature, not by their inadvertencies. "The fact that Shakspere uses a word, or Sir Walter Scott, or Burke, or Washington Irving, or whoever happens to be writing earnestly in Melbourne or Sidney, does not make it reputable. The fact that all five of these authorities use the word in the same sense would go very far to establish the usage. On the other hand, the fact that any number of newspaper reporters agree in usage does not make the usage reputable. The style of newspaper reporters is not without merit; it is very rarely unreadable; but for all its virtue it is rarely a well of English undefiled."[5]

"Reputable use is fixed, not by the practice of those whom A or B deems the best speakers or writers, but by the practice of those whom the world deems the best—those who are in the best repute, not indeed as to thought, but as to expression, the manner of communicating thought. The practice of no one writer, however high he may stand in the public estimation, is enough to settle a point; but the uniform or nearly uniform practice of reputable speakers or writers is decisive."[6]

      Good Reading the Foundation of Good Speaking and Writing.—To the question how to become familiar with good use the first answer is, read the best literature. Language, like manners, is learned for the most part by imitation; and a person who is familiar with the language of reputable writers and speakers will use good English without conscious effort, just as a child brought up among refined people generally has good manners without knowing it. Good reading is indispensable to good speaking or writing. Without this, rules and dictionaries are of no avail. In reading the biographies of eminent writers, it is interesting to note how many of them were great readers when they were young; and teachers can testify that the best writers among their pupils are those who have read good literature or who have been accustomed to hear good English at home. The student of expression should begin at once to make the acquaintance of good literature.

      The Use of Dictionaries.—To become acquainted with good literature, however, takes a long time; and to decide, by direct reference to the usage of the best writers, every question that arises in composition, is not possible for beginners. In certain cases beginners must go to dictionaries to learn what good use approves. Dictionaries do not make good use, but by recording the facts learned by professional investigators they answer many questions regarding it. To one who wishes to speak and write well a good dictionary is indispensable.

      "The Foundations of Rhetoric."—Dictionaries, however, are not always a sufficient guide; for, being records, they aim to give all the senses in which a word is used, and do not always tell which sense is approved by the best usage. Large dictionaries contain many words which have gone out of good use and other words which have not yet come into good use. Moreover, they treat of words only, not of constructions and long expressions. Additional help in determining good use is required by beginners, and this help is to be found in such books as Professor A.S. Hill's "Foundations of Rhetoric." The investigations of a specialist are there recorded in a convenient form, with particular reference to the needs of beginners and of those who have been under the influence of bad models. Common errors are explained and corrected, and the fundamental merits of good expression are set forth and illustrated.

      Purpose of these Exercises.—In the following exercises, which are intended for drill on some of these elements of good expression, care has been taken to put the questions into the forms in which they arise in actual composition. The notes which precede the exercises are only hints; for full discussions of the principles involved the student must consult larger works.

Some Convenient Names
BARBARISMS: Words and phrases not English; _i.e.,_ not authorized by good English use. The name comes from a Greek word meaning "foreign," "strange."	{Table of Contents	Phrases that have gone out of use, said to be ARCHAIC or OBSOLETE. Brand-new words which have not become established in good use: as, "burglarize," "enthuse," "electrocute." Phrases introduced from foreign countries (called FOREIGNISMS, ALIENISMS), or peculiar to some district or province (called PROVINCIALISMS). A phrase introduced from France is called a Gallicism; from England, an Anglicism. A phrase peculiar to America is called an Americanism. Similarly we have the terms Latinism, Hellenism, Teutonism, etc. All these names may be applied also to certain Скачать книгу В начало < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > В конец