Part 1

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EVERY-DAY ERRORS OF SPEECH

BY L. P. MEREDITH, M.D., D.D.S., AUTHOR OF "THE TEETH, AND HOW TO SAVE THEM."

PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 1876.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year, 1872, by L. P. MEREDITH, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

INTRODUCTION

_Damas._ * * * The Prince of Como does not understand his own language.

_Melnotte._ Not as you pronounce it: Who the deuce could?

It may be regarded as one of the commendable peculiarities of the English language that, despite provincialisms, vulgarisms, neglected education, foreign accent, and the various corrupting influences to which it is subjected, it may be understood wherever it is heard, whatever differences of distance or associations may have existed between the speaker and the listener, both claiming familiarity with it. Considering these influences and the arbitrariness of the orthoepical rules of the language, there has been expressed surprise that frequent degenerations into uncouth dialects or patois have not occurred. A decent regard for the common weal should cause gratification that such degenerations have not taken place, for were it not for the ability of our tongue to preserve its individuality against the tendency toward corruption, we might reasonably fear such a Babel-like confusion, that, when asked, "Do you speak English?" one might appropriately, _sans_ the profanity, reply in the language of the text, "Not as you pronounce it: Who the deuce could?" While the majority of people place no other value upon language than that of convenience, and are indifferent to any corruption, so long as they can simply understand and be understood, there is happily a better class, the æsthetic cultivation of which is such that those who belong to it are anxious to preserve the purity of our vernacular and are ashamed of all errors of speech in their daily conversations. For such it will not be uninteresting to look over a number of errors, principally of pronunciation, that are not formally laid down as such in books, and which people, even many of the best educated, are constantly committing, just because they have never had their attention called to them. These errors are becoming more deeply rooted every day and if not soon eradicated, it will not be many years before our orthoepic standard will be overthrown as it was in England some years ago.

Smart, one of the most celebrated of English orthoepists, in the preface of his dictionary says: "The proprietors of Walker's dictionary, finding it would slide entirely out of use unless it were adapted to the present day, engaged me as a teacher of elocution, known in London since Walker's time, to make the necessary changes." A standard pronouncing dictionary is a work that involves an extraordinary amount of labor and research in its compilation, and exerts an influence almost autocratical. The possibility of its becoming worthless in a short time is strange, especially when it is not on account of any work claiming superiority, but merely because error long persisted in finally becomes more authoritative than the original exemplar. With little effort, however, we can discern the causes. Persons are apt to acquire the pronunciation and use of the greater number of words by imitation, rather than by study. With confidence in the knowledge of the parent, teacher, minister, physician and others, their examples are followed without ever considering that they are often very fallible guides.

A complete dictionary is an immense volume, and to turn over its pages with even a casual observation of each word, requires an amount of time that few would feel like devoting to it; and yet this is the only way in which a person can become _assured_ of the sanctioned pronunciation and meaning of a great many words. If they would make it an invariable rule to make memoranda of all the words they read or hear spoken, about the orthoepy and import of which they are not absolutely certain, and at their first leisure opportunity would consult their chosen authority, it would not be long before the majority of errors would be corrected; but this requires memory, inclination, time, continuity of purpose, possession of dictionaries or access to them--circumstances that are seldom found combined. It will doubtless be useless to rehearse any of the arguments commonly employed to prove the necessity of having some sovereign standard, to the guidance of which we must be willing to submit. Those for whom this work is intended will be willing to admit that. Nor is it necessary to assert that as far as the English speakers of the United States are interested, the only works that lay claim to such a position are the dictionaries of Webster and Worcester. If the right of the opinions of the majority of scholars throughout the land were alone considered, the former would certainly be entitled to the preference; but the work of the latter is too full of merit and has too many adherents in the ranks of the educated to permit any one to say that it is not worthy of high esteem.

With my own preference for the former and with my willingness to acknowledge the worth of the latter, I have consulted both authorities concerning every word in the following vocabulary--that is, every word requiring reference to either. It will be seen that there is much less difference between the decisions of the two dictionaries than is commonly supposed. By this reference to each, I have not only corrected errors in an impartial manner, but have also stopped up that loop-hole through which so many try to escape by saying, when they are called to account according to one dictionary, that they do not accept that as their standard. As far as the people of this country are concerned, there is no escape from the conclusion that a person is considered a correct or an incorrect speaker of English, according to whether or not he conforms his discourse to one of the above mentioned authorities. At first glance it will appear that the size of this volume is not at all commensurate to the task of correcting the many errors that are heard in our communication with all classes that pretend to speak the English language. It is not intended to instruct those whose education has been so neglected that they are guilty of the grossest violation of syntax and orthoepy, nor to cultivate the taste of those whose selection of words and cant and slang phrases betrays the low grade of the associations by which they have been surrounded. It is designed rather as a collection of the more common of those errors, chiefly orthoepical, that I have before spoken of as being of constant occurrence even among people of education, unless they have paid considerable attention to philology or _belles-lettres_. If by presenting them in this convenient form, thus saving much time and trouble in referring to the dictionary, I have merited the thanks of my readers, or if I have contributed even a mite toward the conservation of the present usage, I shall feel amply repaid.

I have taken advantage of the alphabetical arrangement to introduce a few miscellaneous errors that might have been placed under a separate heading.

Instead of dividing the words into syllables and loading them with marks as is usually done in dictionaries, I have thought that it would make a deeper impression on the memory to present the words as they are commonly seen in print, depending on respelling to furnish the correct and incorrect accent and pronunciation.

The corrections have first been made according to Webster; if Worcester is unmentioned, it is to be understood that both authorities agree.

_Cincinnati, December 20, 1871._

Errors of Speech.

KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE RESPELLING

The long sounds of a, e, i, o, u, are represented by ā, ē, ī, ō, ū. The short sounds of a, e, i, o, u, " ă, ĕ, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ. _a_, as in _air_, _pair_, is represented by â. _a_, " _far_, _arm_, " " ä or ah. _a_, " _all_, _haul_, " " aw. _a_, " _what_, _squat_, " " ŏ. _e_, " _ere_, _where_, " " ê. _e_, " _obey_, _weight_, " " ā. _e_, " _her_, _term_, " " ë. _i_, " _machine_, " " ē or ee. _i_, " _dirk_, _whirl_, " " ï. _o_, " _done_, _son_, " " ŭ. _o_, " _woman_, " " ŏŏ. _o_, " _do_, _move_, " " ōō. _o_, " _for_, _storm_, " " ô or aw. _oo_, " _soon_, _moon_, " " ōō. _oo_, " _foot_, _good_, " " ŏŏ. _u_, " _rude_, _rule_, " " ōō. _u_, " _push_, _pull_, " " ŏŏ. _u_, " _burn_, _turn_, " " ü. _oi_,} " _oil_, _toy_, " " oi. _oy_,} _ou_,} " _found_, _owl_, " " ow. _ow_,}

_c_, as in _city_, _cite_, is represented by s or ç. _c_, " _can_, _cut_, " " k. _ch_, " _child_, _much_, " " ch. _ch_, " _machine_, " " sh. _ch_, " _chorus_, " " k. _g_, " _ginger_, " " j. _n_, " _think_, _uncle_, " " ñ. _qu_, " _require_, " " kw. _s_, " _these_, _ease_, " " z.

Obscure vowel sounds, or those which are glided over in a word without any noticeable accent, are unmarked. In those cases where the pronunciation is so evident that mistakes seem improbable, the marks are also omitted.

EVERY-DAY ERRORS OF SPEECH.

A.

=Abacus=--ab´a-kŭs, not a-băk´ŭs.

=Abdomen=--ab-dō´men, not ab´do-men.

=Acclimate=--ak-klī´māte, not ak´kli-māte.

=Acclimated= is also accented on the second syllable.

=Acclimatization=--ak-kli-mat-i-zā´shun, not ak-klī´ma-ti-zā-shun.

=Adult=--a-dŭlt´, not ăd´ult.

=Aerated=--ā´er-ā-ted, not ā´rē-ā-ted. "_Areated bread_" is a mistake that is frequently made.

=Ailantus=--ā-lăn´tŭs, not ā-lăn´thŭs; ăt-lăn´tus is a still worse error.

=Albumen=--al-bū´men, not al´bu-men.

=Alder=--awl´der, not ăl´der; it is the name of a _tree_ and does not mean the ordinary _elder_.

=Alike.= It is sufficient to say that two persons or things are _alike_, not _both alike_. The word associated with _alike_ is just as unnecessary as it is with _resemble_ and _equal_ in the following sentences: "These two men _both_ resemble each other." "These two sums are _both_ equal."

=Allopathy=--al-lŏp´a-thy, not al´lo-path-y.

=Allopathist= is similarly accented.

=Alpaca=--al-păk´a, not al-la-păk´a.

=Altercate=--ăl´ter-kāte, not awl´ter-kate.

=Amenable=--a-mē´na-ble, not a-mĕn´a-ble.

=Among.= A thing is divided _among_ many and _between_ two.

=Amour=--a-mōōr´, not am´-mōre nor ā´mōōr.

=Angry.= Say angry _with_ a person and _at_ a thing.

=Animalcula= is the plural of _animalculum_; there is no such word as _animalculœ_. Animalcule (singular) and animalcules (plural), are proper words; the former is pronounced an-i-mal´kūle and the latter an-i-mal´kūlz.

=Antarctic=--ant-ärk´tik, not ant-är´tik.

=Antepenult=--an-te-pe-nŭlt´, not an-te-pē´nŭlt.

=Apex=--ā´pex, not ăp´ex.

=Apparatus=--ap-pa-rā´tus, not ap-pa-răt´us.

=Aquaria=, not _aquariums_, is the plural of _aquarium_.

=Arabic=--ăr´a-bĭk, not a-răb´ĭk, a-rā´bĭk, nor ăr´a-băk; which errors are very common, especially in the compound word _gum-arabic_.

=Arbitrary= is often incorrectly pronounced as if spelled _ar-bi-ta-ry_.

=Archangel=--ärk-ān´jel, not ärch-ān´jel.

=Archbishop=--ärch-bish´op, not ärk-bish´op.

=Archipelago=--ärk-i-pel´a-gō, not ärch-i-pel´a-gō.

=Architect=--är´ki-tect, not är´chi-tect.

=Archives=--är´kīvez, not är´chīvez, nor är´kēvez.

=Arctic=--ärk´tik, not är´tik.

=Arid=--ăr´id, not ā´rid.

=Aroma=--a-rō´ma, not ăr´o-ma.

=At= should not be used when it has no possible connection with the other words of a sentence; as, "Where are you living _at_?"

=At all=, not a tall.

=Attacked=, not attackted.

=Auction=--awk´shun, not ŏk´shun.

=Ay= or =Aye=, meaning _yes_, and =aye=, an affirmative vote, are pronounced äĭ and not ī nor ā.

=Aye=, meaning forever, always (used chiefly in poetry), is pronounced ā not ī nor äĭ.

B.

=Bade=--băd, not bāde.

=Badinage=--băd´in-äzh, not băd´in-āje. Worcester gives the same pronunciation, but places the accent on the last syllable.

=Balance.= There are two common errors connected with this word. One is to write it _ballance_: the other is to use it in the sense of _remainder_, _rest_, etc.; as, the _balance_ of the day, the _balance_ of the people. Balance means properly "the excess on one side, or what added to the other makes equality." The corrupt use of the word, as above mentioned, is laid down as a vulgarism.

=Bantam=, not _banty_.

=Bellows=--bĕl´lŭs, not bĕl´lōz. The plural is the same as the singular.

=Besom=--bē´zum, not bē´sum. A broom.

=Betroth=--be-trŏth, not be-trōth. =Betrothed=, =Betrothal=, etc., are similarly pronounced.

=Blacking=, not _blackening_ for boots and shoes.

=Blouse=--blowz, not blowss.

=Bologna=--bō-lōn´ya, not bō-lō´na. _Bologna_ sausage, _Bologna_ phial, etc.

=Bona fide=--bō´na-fī´de, not bō´na-fīde nor bŏn´a-fīde.

=Booth.= The _th_ is sounded as in the preposition _with_, not as in _both_.

=Bouquet=--bōō-kā´ or boōō´kā, not bō-kā´.

=Bourgeois=, meaning a kind of type, is pronounced bür-jois´, not like the following word:

=Bourgeois=, a citizen, pronounced bōōr-zhwaw´.

=Brand-new=, not _bran-new_. Although the latter adjective is much used, it is evidently a corruption of the former. An article in its newness may be bright like a _brand_ of fire, or the _brand_ of the manufacturer may remain intact, but there is certainly no _bran_ about it.

=Breeches=--brĭtch´ez, not as spelled.

=Bretzel=, not _pretzel_. A brittle German cake.

=Brilliant.= A diamond of the finest cut, with its faces and facets so arranged as to secure the greatest degree of brilliancy--whence the name. The name to many conveys the idea of paste, or imitation. A _rose_ diamond may be just as pure, but its depth does not permit it to be made a _brilliant_ of without a much greater loss of substance.

=Brougham=--brōōm or brōō´am, not brō´am nor brow´am. A kind of carriage.

=Burst=, =Burst= and =Bursting=, not _bust_, _busted_ and _busting_.

C.

=Calculate= is often inappropriately used in lieu of _believe_, _suppose_, _expect_, etc., as in the following sentences: "I _calculate_ you are my friend;" "I _calculate_ the report is true." Still worse than this passive misuse is that active one of using the word in some such sense as this: "Doctor, I know that you are a man of great intelligence and I have unlimited confidence in your honor and ability; but I must say that I think the course of treatment pursued by you during this epidemic, is _calculated_ to increase the mortality among your patients." How inconsistent with the encomium is the dreadful accusation just following! As if the Doctor had sat down and _calculated_ how he could cause injury rather than benefit. Calculate means to ascertain by means of figures or to study what means must be used to secure a certain result. A person may make a speech, write a book, or do anything else _calculated_ to do good, or more rarely, evil, but the intention to accomplish the object spoken of must be present, before the word can be properly used.

=Calliope=--kal-lī´o-pe, not kal´li-ōpe.

=Calvary=, not _cavalry_, when the place of our Saviour's crucifixion is meant.

=Camelopard=--ka-mel´o-pärd or kam´el-o-pärd, not kam-el-lĕop´ard.

=Cantatrice=--kăn-ta-trē´che, not kăn´ta-treess.

=Canon=--kăn´yun, not kăn´nun. A deep gorge or ravine. Spelled also =Canyon=, pronounced kän-yōn´ or kăn´yon.

=Capoch=--ka-pōōtsh´, not ka-pōch´. =Capouch= is another orthography.

=Caption= in the sense of the heading of a discourse, chapter, page, etc., is not sanctioned by good writers.

=Carminative=--kär-mīn´a-tive, not kär´mi-nā-tive.

=Casualty=--kăzh´u-al-ty, not kăz-u-ăl´i-ty.

=Cater-cornered=--kā´ter-cor-nered, not kăt´ty-cor-nered. Not down, thus compounded in Webster, but his pronunciation of the separate words is as given. Worcester gives the word as above and defines it as an adjective--diagonal. It is generally used though, I believe, as an adverb; as, "the piano stands cater-cornered" (diagonally). It is regarded as an inelegant word, diagonal and diagonally being preferred: though it is probable that this opinion has been caused by the abominable pronunciations _catty_ and _kitty_ cornered.

=Catalpa=--ka-tăl´pa, not ka-tawl´pa.

=Catch=, =Catching=--kătch and kătching, not kĕtch and kĕtching.

=Catholic= means liberal, general, not bigoted, and not _Roman_ Catholic, unless specially so applied.

=Caucasian=--kaw-kā´sian,not kaw-kāzh´ian, kaw-kăsh´ian, kaw-kāz´ian nor kaw-kăss´ian.

=Cayenne=--kā-ĕn´, not kī-ĕn´.

=Chaps=--chŏps, not chăps. The jaws. =Chops= is also correct orthography.

=Chasten=--chās´en, not chăs´en. =Chastened=, =chastening=, etc., have also the long a.

=Chew=, not _chaw_. The latter word either as a verb or noun is now considered quite vulgar.

=Chid=, not chī´ded, is the imperfect tense of chide.

=Chimera=--kĭ-mē´ra, not chi-mē´ra, nor kī-mē´ra.

=Chivalric=--shĭv´al-rik, not shĭv-ăl´rik. Worcester allows the latter.

=Chivalrous=--shĭv´al-rŭs, not shĭv-ăl´rus. Worcester gives chĭv´al-rus also.

=Chivalry=--shĭv´al-ry, not chĭv´al-ry. Worcester sanctions both.

=Cicerone=--chē-che-rō´ne or sĭs-e-rō´ne, not sĭs´e-rōne. A guide.

=Citrate=--sĭt´rate, not sī´trate. "Citrate of magnesia."

=Climbed=, not clomb (klum). One climbs _up_ but does not climb _down_.

=Cochineal=--kŏch´i-neel, not kō´chi-neel nor kō´ki-neel.

=Cocoa= (kō´kō) is not made from the cocoa-nut or tree, but from the seeds of the _cacao_ (ka-kā´o) or chocolate tree. The word is evidently a perversion, but it has gained a permanent footing in its present signification.

=Cognomen=--kŏg-no´men, not kŏg´no-men.

=Cold-chisel=, not _coal-chisel_. It is a chisel of peculiar strength and hardness for cutting _cold_ metal.

=Cole-slaw.= In the former editions of some dictionaries it has been taught that this word is derived from _cole_ meaning cabbage, and _slaw_ meaning salad. Cole-slaw--cabbage-salad. The uninstructed soon changed the _cole_ into _cold_ and substituted _hot_ for the other extreme of temperature, thus entirely changing the signification. What was really meant, was _hot cole-slaw_ and _cold cole-slaw_. Many persons still regard _cole-slaw_ as the proper word, and receipt books give that orthography. The last editions of Webster and Worcester, however, only give the words _cole_ and _slaw_ in separate places and define the latter as "sliced cabbage."

=Combatant=--kŏm´bat-ant, not kom-băt´ant.

=Combativeness=--kŏm´bat-ive-ness, not kom-băt´ive-ness.

=Come= is often thoughtlessly used for _go_ or some other word. If How is just leaving Howard's house it is right for How to say, "I'll come to see you soon," but Howard could not properly say, _at that place_, the same thing. He should say, "I will go to see you soon." If they both live in Philadelphia and should meet in New York, neither could say appropriately, "I'll come to see you after I get home;" that would mean that one would travel back from his home in Philadelphia to New York to see the other. But either might say, "Come and see me when you get home."

=Comparable=--kŏm´pa-ra-ble, not kŏm-păr´a-ble.

=Complaisance=--kŏm´pla-zans, not kŏm-plā´zăns. In complaisant and complaisantly, the accent is also on the first syllable. Worcester places it on the third, thus: complaisant (kom-pla-zănt´), etc.

=Comptroller=--kon-trōl´ler, not kŏmp-trōl´ler.

=Conduit=--kŏn´dĭt or kŭn´dit, not kŏn´duĭt or kŏn´dūte. A pipe or canal for the conveyance of fluid.

=Confab=, not _conflab_. A contraction of confabulation.

=Congeries=--kŏn-jē´rĭ-eez, not kon-jē´rēz nor kŏn´je-rēz. A collection of particles into one mass.

=Contemptuous=, not =contemptible=, when the manifestation of contempt for another is meant. I once heard a young lady describing how she had withered at a glance a poor young man that had incurred her displeasure. "O, I gave him such a _contemptible_ look," said she. If in the enthusiasm of the rehearsal, the look that dwelt upon her features was akin to that given upon the occasion mentioned, no auditor doubted the exact truth of what she said; but she meant differently.

=Contiguous=--kon-tig´ū-ŭs, not kon-tĭj´ū-ŭs.

=Contour=--kŏn-tōōr´, not kŏn´tōōr. The boundary lines of a figure.

=Contra-dance= is better than _country-dance_, the latter word being a corruption; but it has become admissible from long use. _Contredanse_ is the French original, and means that the parties stand opposite to each other.

=Contrary=--kŏn´tra-ry, not kon-trā´ry, interfering with the rhythm of the distich from Mother Goose's Melodies:

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?"

=Contumacy=--kŏn´tu-ma-sy, not kon-tū´ma-sy. Obstinacy, stubbornness.

=Contumely=--kŏn´tu-me-ly not kŏn-tū´me-ly. Insolence, contemptuousness.

=Conversant=--kŏn´ver-sant, not kon-vĕr´sănt.

=Conversazione=--kŏn´ver-sät-se-ō´nā, not kon-ver-săs´si-ōne. A meeting for conversation. Worcester pronounces it kŏn-ver-sät-ze-ō´nā. The plural is conversazioni (-nē).

=Corporal= punishment, not cor-pō´re-al.

=Cortege=--kôr´tāzh, not kor´tēje. A train of attendants.

=Councilor=, is a member of council.

=Counselor=, one who gives advice. Worcester's spelling is councillor and counsellor.

=Creek=, not krĭck.

=Creole.= From Webster's dictionary are taken the following definitions and remarks:

1. "One born in America, or the West Indies, of European ancestors.

2. "One born within or near the tropics, of any color. 'The term creole negro is employed in the English West Indies to distinguish the negroes born there from the Africans imported during the time of the slave trade. The application of this term to the colored people has led to an idea common in some parts of the United States, though wholly unfounded, that it implies an admixture greater or less of African blood.'--R. Hildreth."

=Crinoline=--krĭn´o-lĭn, not krĭn´o-līne nor krĭn´o-leen.

=Cuirass=--kwē-răs´ or kwē´răs, not kū´răs. A piece of armor.

=Cuisine=--kwe-zēn´, not kū-seen´ or kū-zīne´. Cooking or cooking department.

=Culinary=--kū´li-na-ry, not kŭl´i-na-ry.

=Cupola=--kū´po-la, not kū-po-lō´.

D.

=Dahlia=--däl´ya or dāl´-ya, not dăl´ya.

=Dare not=, not darse'nt.

=Data=--dā´ta, not dăt´a, is the plural of datum (dā´tum).

=Debris=--dā-brē´, not dē´brĭs nor dā´brē. Rubbish, ruins.

=Decade=--dĕk´ade, not dē´kade nor dē-kāde´. Ten in number.