(2) Write to me, mia carissima, as soon as you get this. Mia carissima (Italian for 'My dearest ') is Feminine; but the sentence is taken from a letter written by a girl to her lover. (3) The hoi polloi lined the tow-path. Hoi (oi) is the Masculine Plural of the Greek Article; polloi (Toλλoi) is the Plural of polus (moλús), many. The hoi polloi,' therefore, means 'The the many.' (4) Thus we see that there are many and various kinds of horses. There is the Flemish mare, the Arab steed, and last, but not least, the hors de combat, or French war-horse. The boy who wrote this did not know that hors de combat (disabled) had nothing to do with horses. (5) Effluvia and memoranda may sometimes be seen used as Singular, stratas may be seen as an English Plural, and animalculæ at the dance belong to the beau monde, as may be seen at a coup d'œil; . . . . and in fact everything about it bespeaks the haut ton of the whole affair. A lady who has been happy in her hairdresser is said to be coiffée à ravir. Then there is the bold man to describe. Having acquired the savoir faire, he is never afraid of making a faux pas, but no matter what kind of conversation is started plunges at once in medias res. Following him is the fair débutante, who is already on the look-out for un bon parti, but whose nez retroussé is a decided obstacle to her success. She is of course accompanied by mamma en grande toilette who, entre nous, looks rather ridée even in the gaslight. Then, lest the writer should seem frivolous, he suddenly abandons the description of the dances vis-à-vis and dos-à-dos to tell us that Homer becomes tiresome when he sings of βοῶπις πότνια "Ηρη twice in a page. The supper calls forth a corresponding amount of learning, and the writer concludes his article after having aired his Greek, his Latin, his French, and, in a subordinate way, his English. Of course, this style has admirers and imitators. It is showy and pretentious, and everything that is showy and pretentious has admirers. The admixture of foreign phrases with our plain English produces a kind of Brummagem sparkle which people whose appreciation is limited to the superficial imagine to be brilliance. Those who are deficient in taste and art education not unfrequently prefer a dashing picture by young Daub to a glorious cartoon by Raphael. The bright colouring of the one far more than counterbalances the lovely but unobtrusive grace of the other. In a similar way, young students are attracted by the false glitter of the French-paste school of composition; and instead of forming their sentences upon the beautiful models of the great English masters, they twist them into all sorts of unnatural shapes for no other end than that they may introduce a few inappropriate French or Latin words, the use of which they have learned to think looks smart. Of course, pennya-liners are amongst the most enthusiastic followers of the masters of this style. They not only think it brilliant, but they know it to be profitable, inasmuch as it adds considerably to their ability to say a great deal about nothing. The public sees a great deal in the newspapers about 'recherché dinners' and 'sumptuous déjeuners' (sometimes eaten at night), and about the éclat with which a meeting attended by the 'élite of the county' invariably passes off; but they get but a trifling specimen of the masses of similar rubbish which daily fall upon the unhappy editors. The consequence of all this is that the public is habituated to a vicious kind of slang utterly unworthy to be called a language. Even the best-educated people find it difficult to resist the contagion of fashion in such a thing as conversation; and if some kind of stand is not made against this invasion, pure English will soon only exist in the works of our dead authors.-Leeds Mercury (quoted by Dean Alford). K and effluvia as Latin Plurals of words already Plural; while vivâ voce has been made to rhyme to dose, bonâ fide to pride, Goethe to teeth, and Cyclades to maids; and an Englishwoman, who is a popular novelist, speaks of the hands of the Scipii being nailed to the rostræ ! (6) Ignorance of French is shown in the following sentences:And thus naïve [Fem.] he stood out in bold relief. We must be very naïve [Fem. Sing.] to imagine that they sound our praises over the tomb of the Prophet. Tom Moore was a dapper little man, so short as to look quite petite [Fem.] He had small petite [Fem. Sing.] features. • small small.'] ['Small petite' means These two fine paintings have, by some connoisseurs, been considered the chef d'œuvres of the series. (7) The following sentences show ignorance of Latin : Of the other luminary I have named, I have not so much to say, in con. sequence of such litera scripta [Sing.] of his as have escaped being marked 'private.' The journalistic vertebræ [Plur.] in Kingston is growing tougher. (8) The following sentence shows ignorance of Greek : This is a phenomena [Plur.] common to an immense number of diseases. Exercise 73. Re-write the following sentences, using only English words: A propos of poets what do you think of Scott? He spoke à propos de bottes. The man is consumed with amour propre. The beaux esprits of the age were too blasé to enjoy his plays. The funeral cortège was a mile long. Napoleon obtained power by a coup d'état. They sat around the table, having before them the debris of the feast. She made her debut as a singer at Covent Garden. The fair débutante was nervous when she first stepped on the stage. The élite of the town were gathered in the hall. Messrs. Smith and Jones gave their employés an excellent tea à la fourchette. It is useless to oppose the measure now as it is a fait accompli. We must begin our work again ab initio. Ad valorem duties are charged at those ports. Cæteris paribus, I should prefer a brown to a piebald pony. Though he was not king de facto, his adherents claimed that he was king de jure. His quondam friends now differ from him in toto, and he must begin de novo the task of creating a party. When he had made his ex parte statement, the court adjourned sine die. We cannot oppose his motion per se; indeed, the passing of it is a sine quá non. Matters are now restored to their ante quo bellum condition. Speaking ex cathedra, he stated in limine that he differed in toto from all his critics. The queen travelled incog. The gardens exhibited much that was glaring and bizarre. I told the garçon to bring me some café au lait, but the stupid fellow brought me café noir. There is now no raison d'être for their existence. This subject is still on the tapis. Her sister sank into a chair, frightfully perdue. This penchant of his did anything but commend itself to his associates. It may be fine fun for them, but the exchange of Billingsgate badinage coram publico by embryonic M.P.'s is not conducive to public decorum. No one despises a handkerchief bordered with duchesse or point de gaze lace, and when a mouchoir... Straw bonnets can be utilised by the addition of velvet or frisé borders, with trimming to match, an aigrette placed in a coque of velvet or frisé, with a velvet or frisé mentonnière in place of strings. A vêtement is ornamented with an exceedingly rich beaded passementerie motifs. A sensitive withdrawal and sudden retreat into the shell of silence but not of conviction is very much fostered by such dyslogistic remarks as 'Grandmotherly policy'. . . samples of a class in which the feminine elementary or ewig weibliches is used as a ne plus ultra of inanity or imbecility. The tout ensemble and the mise-en-scène were all that could be desired. Are you going to the matinée ? The play did not hit the popular taste; it had only a succès d'estime. We went to Mrs. Jones's soirée dansante; we had pâté de foie gras and some delightful chansons, and on coming out I wore my sortie de bal. We have here an embarras des richesses. The pièce de résistance was a leg of mutton. She fed sans façon on the mangeaille provided by the chef of the village auberge. 136. In addition to avoiding foreign words, you should avoid foreign idioms, as-That goes without saying' (Cela va sans dire) for 'That is understood,' or 'Of course.' 137. You should also avoid using English words as the equivalents of their foreign representatives when the meanings of the words are not the same. The French assister means 'to be present at.' Do not use the English assist as if it meant the same. Similarly, in French practicable means 'passable,' but not so in English. Replace, to place back again, is often used as equivalent to the French remplacer, to take the place of. The clock was replaced [placed back again] by a servant is good English, but The clock was replaced [had its place taken] by a vase is English corrupted by French influence. Our Indefinite one corresponds to the French Impersonal on, but cannot be used so freely. Such a sentence as the following is disagreeable : How miserable 'tis to have one one hates always about one, and when one cannot endure one's own reflection upon some action who could bear the thoughts of another upon him? Exercise 74. Re-write the following sentences, avoiding the foreign idioms: The meeting was a pronounced success [prononcé, decided]. All this was done by the persons I intend [entendre, to mean]. I am a man and cannot help feeling any sorrow that can arrive at [arriver, to happen] man. The popular lords did not fail to enlarge themselves [s'élargir, to enlarge] on the subject. This minister has the courage of his convictions. They know not how to employ their time or what to make of themselves. He likes to keep himself in evidence [en évidence, conspicuous]. His powers were placed in evidence by her not daring to utter a sarcasm. There were four windows giving on [donner sur, to overlook] the yard, TECHNICAL TERMS. 138. Every science, every art, every occupation has words and phrases peculiar to itself. The use of these technical terms saves much time and trouble, but a writer should employ them only when he has reason for believing that his readers are quite familiar with them. He should never employ them when writing for the general reader, as they are certain to be unintelligible. How many persons could understand the following lines,' for éxample? Oh, lovely Clara, hie with me Where Cryptogams in beauty spore, Where gay Pezizae flaunt their hues In which the ascus may be seen. Sporidia's length will stand revealed, Estivum tubers we shall dig Like Suidæ in Fagian shade, And many a Sphæria-sheltering twig For Selerotia we shall peer In ba and brassicaceous leaves, And trace their progress through the year Like bobbies on the track of thieves. This poem being From 'To Clara Morchella Deliciosa: a Mycological Serenade.' written by a scientific man (Mr. A. S. Wilson, of North Kinmundy, Aberdeenshire), and read to a scientific body (the Cryptogamic Society of Glasgow), admirably fulfilled its purpose. |