WORDS AND SENTENCES
Vocabularies. The collection of words a person can command either in
use or understanding is a vocabulary. Every person has three distinct
ones: his reading vocabulary, his writing vocabulary, his speaking
vocabulary. Of these, the reading vocabulary is the largest. There are
thousands of words he recognizes in reading and although he might not
be able to construct a dictionary definition for everyone, he has a
sufficiently clear idea to grasp the meaning. In this rude
approximation to sense he is aided by the context, but for all
practical purposes he understands the word. If he were writing,
carefully taking time to note exactly what he was expressing, he might
recall that word and so consciously put it into a sentence. He might
use it in exactly the same sense in which he had seen it in print. But
never in the rush of ideas and words in spoken discourse would he risk
using a word he knew so slightly. If nothing more, he would beware of
mispronunciation.
Thus a person could easily deduce from his reading that a _hangar_ is
a building to house airplanes. He might--to avoid repeating the word
_shed_ too frequently--use it in writing. But until he was absolutely
certain of its significance and its sound he would hardly venture to
say it to other men.
Spoken discourse is so alive, it moves so rapidly, that it is never so
precise, so varied in its choice of words, as written material. The
phraseology of written discourse sounds slightly or markedly stilted,
bookish, if repeated by the tongue. This difference--though it may
appear almost trifling--is apparent to everyone. Its recognition can
be partly illustrated by the fact that after President Lowell and
Senator Lodge had debated on the topic, the League of Nations, in
Boston and were shown the reports of their speeches, each made changes
in certain expressions. The version for print and reading is a little
more formal than the delivered sentences. The Senator said, "I want"
but preferred to write "I wish"; then he changed "has got to be" into
"must," and "nothing to see" into "nothing visible."
One might say that all three vocabularies should correspond, but there
is no real need of this. So long as people read they will meet
thousands of words for which they have no need in speaking. Everybody
must be able to understand the masterpieces of the past with their
archaic (old-fashioned) words like _eftsoons_ or _halidom_, but no one
need use such expressions now. So there is no discredit in the fact
that one's speaking vocabulary is more restricted than his reading
vocabulary.
New Ideas, New Words. It is true, however, that an educated person
should never rest content with the size of his usable speaking
vocabulary. The addition of every new word is likely to indicate the
grasp of a new idea. Likewise, every new idea is almost certain to
require its individual terms for expression. An enlarging vocabulary
is the outward and visible sign of an inward and intellectual growth.
No man's vocabulary can equal the size of a dictionary, the latest of
which in English is estimated to contain some 450,000 words. Life may
be maintained upon a surprisingly meager group of words, as travelers
in foreign lands can testify. Shakespeare's vocabulary is said to have
included as many as 15,000 words. Figures for that of the average
person vary considerably.
Increasing the Vocabulary. The method of increasing a vocabulary is a
quite simple process. Its procedure is a fascinating exercise. It
covers four steps. When a new word is encountered it should be noticed
with keen attention. If heard, its pronunciation will be fixed upon
the ear. If seen, its spelling should be mastered at once. The next
step is to consult a dictionary for either spelling or pronunciation.
Then all its meanings should be examined. Still the word is not yours
until you have used it exactly. This you should do at the first
opportunity. If the opportunity seems long in coming make it for
yourself by discussing with some one the topic with which it was used
or frankly discuss the word itself. How many unfamiliar words have you
heard or seen recently? How many do you easily use now in your own
remarks? You might find it a good plan to take a linguistic inventory
every night. A little practice in this will produce amazingly
interesting and profitable results in both use and understanding. A
keenness for words will be rapidly developed. Word-lists of all kinds
will take on entirely new meanings. A spontaneous receptivity will
develop into permanent retention of words and phrases.
EXERCISES
1. Tell of some new word you have added to your vocabulary recently.
Explain when you met it, how it happened to impress you, what you
learned of it.
2. In studying a foreign language how did you fix in your mind the
words which permanently stuck there?
3. Look over a page in a dictionary. Report to the class on some
interesting material you find.
4. Make a list of ten slang or technical expressions. Explain them in
exact, clear language.
5. Find and bring to class a short printed passage, which because of
the words, you cannot understand. Unusual books, women's fashion
magazines, technical journals, books of rules for games, financial
reports, contain good examples.
6. How much do you know about any of the following words?
chassis fuselage orthodox sable
comptometer germicide plebescite self-determination
covenant layman purloin soviet
ethiopian morale querulous vers libre
farce nectar renegade zoom
7. Comment on the words in the following extracts:
"Of enchanting crimson brocade is the slipover blouse which
follows the lines of the French cuirasse. Charmingly simple,
this blouse, quite devoid of trimming, achieves smartness by
concealing the waistline with five graceful folds."
"The shift bid consists in bidding a suit, of which you have
little or nothing, with the ultimate object of transferring
later to another declaration, which is perfectly sound. The
idea is to keep your adversaries from leading this suit up
to your hand, which they will likely avoid doing, thinking
that you are strong in it."
"While sentiment is radically bearish on corn there is so
little pressure on the market other than from shorts that a
majority of traders are inclined to go slow in pressing the
selling side on breaks until the situation becomes more
clearly defined. The weekly forecast for cool weather is
regarded as favorable for husking and shelling, and while
there was evening up on the part of the pit operators for the
double holiday, some of the larger local professionals went
home short expecting a lower opening Tuesday."
8. Make a list of ten new words you have learned recently.
Suffixes and Prefixes. Definite steps for continuous additions can be
mapped out and covered. Careful attention to prefixes and suffixes
will enlarge the vocabulary.
PREFIXES
1. a = on, in, at, to; _abed, aboard, afield, afire_
2. ab (a, abs) = from, away; _absent, abstract, abdicate_
3. ad, etc. = to, in addition to; _adapt, admit, adduce_
4. ante = before, _anteroom, antebellum_
5. anti = against, opposite; _anticlimax, antipodes, antipathy_
6. bi= two; _bicycle, biennial, biped, biplane_
7. circum = around, about; _circumnavigate, circumscribe,
circumvent_
8. con (col, com, co, cor, etc.) = with, together; _consent,
collect, coördinate, composite, conspiracy_
9. contra (counter) = against; _contradict, counteract, countermand_
10. de = down, from, away; _depose, desist, decapitate,
denatured_
11. demi, hemi, semi = half; _demi-tasse, hemisphere, semiannual,
semitransparent_
12. di (dis) = twice, double; _dissyllable_
13. dis (di, dif) = apart, away, not; _distract, diverge, diversion,
disparage_
14. en (em) = in, on, into; _engrave, embody, embrace_
15. extra = beyond; _extraordinary, extravagant_
16. hyper = above; _hypercritical_
17. in (il, im, ir) = in, into, not; _inclose, illustrate, irrigate,
inform, illiterate, impious, irregular_
18. ex (e, ec, ef) = out of, from, beyond, thoroughly, formerly
but not now; _exclude, excel, ex-senator._
19. inter = between, among; _intercede, interchange, interfere,
interurban, interlude_
20. mis = wrongly, badly; _miscalculate, misspell, misadventure_
21. mono = one; _monoplane_
22. per = through, thoroughly, by; _perchance, perfect, per-adventure_
23. poly = many; _polygon, polytheism_
24. post = behind, after; _postgraduate, post-mortem, postlude_,
_postscript, post-meridian_ (P.M.)
25. pre = before (in time, place, or order); _preëminent, predict,
prefer, prefix, prejudge, prejudice_
26. preter = beyond; _preternatural_
27. pro = before, forth, forward; _proceed, prosecute_
28. pro = siding with; _pro-ally_
29. re = back, again; _recover, renew, recall_
30. sub, etc. = under; _submerge, subscribe, subterranean,
subterfuge_
31. super (sur) = over, above; _superintend, supercargo_
32. trans (tra) = across; _translate, transmit, transfer_
33. vice (vis) = instead of; _vice-president, vice-admiral_
SUFFIXES
1. ee, er = one who; _absentee_, _profiteer_, _mower_
2. ard, art= term of disparagement; _drunkard_, _braggart_
3. esque = like; _statuesque_
4. ism = state of being; _barbarism_, _atheism_
5. et, let = little; _brooklet_, _bracelet_, _eaglet_
6. ling = little, young; _duckling_, _gosling_
7. kin = little; _lambkin_, _Peterkin_
8. stead = a place; _bedstead_, _homestead_, _instead_
9. wright = a workman; _wheelwright_
Thesaurus. Besides frequently consulting a good modern dictionary a
student speaker should familiarize himself with a _Thesaurus_ of words
and phrases. This is a peculiarly useful compilation of expressions
according to their meaning relations. A dictionary lists words, then
gives their meanings. A Thesaurus arranges meanings, then gives the
words that express those ideas. The value of such a book can be best
illustrated by explaining its use.
Suppose a speaker is going to attack some principle, some act, some
party. He knows that his main theme will be denunciation of something.
In the index of a Thesaurus he looks under _denunciation_, finding two
numbers of paragraphs. Turning to the first he has under his eye a
group of words all expressing shades of this idea. There are further
references to other related terms. Let us look at the first group,
taken from Roget's _Thesaurus_.
MALEDICTON, curse, imprecation, denunciation, execration, anathema,
ban, proscription, excommunication, commination, fulmination.
Cursing, scolding, railing, Billingsgate language.
_V_. To curse, accurse, imprecate, scold, rail, execrate.
To denounce, proscribe, excommunicate, fulminate.
_Adj_. Cursing, &c, cursed, &c.
THREAT, menace, defiance, abuse, commination, intimidation.
_V_. To threaten, menace, defy, fulminate; to intimidate.
_Adj_. Threatening, menacing, minatory, abusive.
The second reference leads us farther. It presents the expressions
dealing with the methods and results of _denunciation_, providing
hundreds of words and phrases to use in various ways. It does even
more, for in a parallel column it gives a list of opposites for the
words indicating _condemnation_. This more than doubles its value.
Finally having reached the word _punishment_ it lists its cognates
until the idea _penalty_ is reached, where it balances that idea with
_reward_ and its synonyms. A portion of this section follows.
LAWSUIT, suit, action, cause, trial, litigation.
Denunciation, citation, arraignment, persecution, indictment,
impeachment, apprehension, arrest, committal, imprisonment.
Pleadings, writ, summons, plea, bill, affidavit, &c.
Verdict, sentence, judgment, finding, decree, arbitrament,
adjudication, award.
_V_. To go to law; to take the law of; to appeal to the law; to join
issue; file a bill, file a claim.
To denounce, cite, apprehend, arraign, sue, prosecute, bring to trial,
indict, attach, distrain, to commit, give in charge or custody; throw
into prison.
To try, hear a cause, sit in judgment.
To pronounce, find, judge, sentence, give judgment; bring in a
verdict; doom, to arbitrate, adjudicate, award, report.
ACQUITTAL, absolution, _see_ Pardon, 918, clearance, discharge,
release, reprieve, respite.
Exemption from punishment; impunity.
_V_. To acquit, absolve, clear, discharge, release, reprieve, respite.
_Adj_. Acquitted, &c.
Uncondemned, unpunished, unchastised.
CONDEMNATION, conviction, proscription; death warrant.
Attainder, attainment.
_V_. To condemn, convict, cast, find guilty, proscribe.
_Adj_. Condemnatory, &c.
PUNISHMENT, chastisement, castigation, correction, chastening,
discipline, infliction, etc.
An observer will see at once just how far these lists go and what must
supplement them. They do not define, they do not discriminate, they do
not restrict. They are miscellaneous collections. A person must
consult the dictionary or refer to some other authority to prevent
error or embarrassment in use. For instance, under the entry
_newspaper_ occurs the attractive word _ephemeris_. But one should be
careful of how and where he uses that word.
Another exercise which will aid in fixing both words and meanings in
the mind and also help in the power of recalling them for instant use
is to make some kind of word-list according to some principle or
scheme. One plan might be to collect all the words dealing with the
idea of _book_. Another might be to take some obvious word root and
then follow it and other roots added to it through all its forms,
meanings, and uses. One might choose _tel_ (distant) and _graph_
(record) and start with _telegraph_. _Telephone_ will introduce
_phone_, _phonograph_; they will lead on to _dictaphone_,
_dictagraph_; the first half links with _dictation_; that may lead as
far away as _dictatorial_. In fact there is no limit to the extent,
the interest, and the value of these various exercises. The single aim
of all of them should be, of course, the enlargement of the speaking
vocabulary. Mere curiosities, current slang, far-fetched metaphors,
passing foreign phrases, archaisms, obsolete and obsolescent terms,
too new coinages, atrocities, should be avoided as a plague.
Consistent, persistent, insistent word-study is of inestimable value
to a speaker. And since all people speak, it follows that it would
benefit everybody.
EXERCISES
1. Explain what is meant by each entry in the foregoing list.
2. List some verbal curiosities you have met recently. Examples: "Mr.
Have-it-your-own-way is the best husband." "He shows a great deal of
stick-to-it-iveness."
3. What should be the only condition for using foreign expressions?
Can you show how foreign words become naturalized? Cite some foreign
words used in speech.
4. Are archaic (old-fashioned), obsolete (discarded), and obsolescent
(rapidly disappearing) terms more common in speech or books? Explain
and illustrate.
Synonyms. As has already been suggested, a copious vocabulary must not
be idle in a person's equipment. He must be able to use it. He must be
able to discriminate as to meaning. This power of choosing the exact
word results from a study of synonyms. It is a fact that no two words
mean _exactly_ the same thing. No matter how nearly alike the two
meanings may appear to be, closer consideration will unfailingly show
at least a slight difference of dignity, if nothing more--as _red_ and
_crimson_, _pure_ and _unspotted_. Synonyms, then, are groups of words
whose meanings are almost the same. These are the words which give so
much trouble to learners of our language. A foreigner is told that
_stupid_ means _dull_, yet he is corrected if he says _a stupid
knife_. Many who learn English as a native tongue fail to comprehend
the many delicate shades of differences among synonyms.
In this matter, also, a dictionary goes so far as to list synonyms,
and in some cases, actually adds a discussion to define the various
limits. For fuller, more careful discrimination a good book of
synonyms should be consulted. Except for some general consideration of
words which everyone is certain to use or misuse, it is better to
consult a treatise on synonyms when need arises than to study it
consecutively. In consultation the material will be fixed by instant
use. In study it may fade before being employed; it may never be
required.
The subjoined paragraphs show entries in two different volumes upon
synonyms:
Adjacent, adjoining, contiguous. Adjacent, in Latin,
_adjiciens_, participle of _adjicio_, is compounded of _ad_
and _jacio_, to lie near. _Adjoining_, as the word implies,
signifies being joined together. Contiguous, in French
_contigu_, Latin _contiguus_, comes from _contingo_, or
_con_ and _tango_, signifying to touch close.
What is _adjacent_ may be separated altogether by the
intervention of some third object; what is _adjoining_ must
touch in some part; and what is _contiguous_ must be fitted
to touch entirely on one side. Lands are _adjacent_ to a
house or town; fields are _adjoining_ to each other; and
houses _contiguous_ to each other.
CRABBE: _English Synonyms_
Victory: Synonyms: achievement, advantage, conquest, mastery,
success, supremacy, triumph. _Victory_ is the state resulting
from the overcoming of an opponent or opponents in any
contest, or from the overcoming of difficulties, obstacles,
evils, etc., considered as opponents or enemies. In the
latter sense any hard-won _achievement_, _advantage,_ or
_success_ may be termed a victory. In _conquest_ and
_mastery_ there is implied a permanence of state that is not
implied in _victory_. _Triumph_, originally denoting the
public rejoicing in honor of a _victory_, has come to signify
also a peculiarly exultant, complete, and glorious _victory_.
Compare _conquer_. Antonyms: defeat, destruction,
disappointment, disaster, failure, frustration, miscarriage,
overthrow, retreat, rout.
FERNALD: _English Synonyms, Antonyms and Prepositions_
Antonyms. Notice that this second paragraph adds a new
word-list--_antonyms_. To reinforce the understanding of what a thing
is, it is desirable to know what it is not, or what its opposite is.
This kind of explanation or description is especially valuable to a
speaker. He can frequently impress an audience more definitely by
explaining the opposite of what he wants them to apprehend. At times
the term is not the extreme opposite; it is merely the negative of the
other. Logically the other side of _white_ is _not white_, while the
antonym is the extreme _black_. Trained speakers use with great effect
the principle underlying such groups of words. When Burke argued
before the House of Commons for a plan to secure harmony with the
American colonies he described the scheme he considered necessary by
showing what it should not be. "No partial, narrow, contracted,
pinched, occasional system will be at all suitable to such an object."
Describing the peace he hoped would be secured he used this principle
of opposites. "Not peace through the medium of war; not peace to be
hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and endless negotiations,
not peace to arise out of universal discord, fomented from principle
in all parts of the empire; not peace to depend on the juridical
determination of perplexing questions, or the precise marking the
shadowy boundaries of a complex government."
We are told by an investigator that one of the reasons for a
Frenchman's keen insight into the capabilities of his language is the
early training received in schools covering differences among words.
This continual weighing of the meaning or the suitability of an
expression is bound to result in a delicate appreciation of its value
as a means of effective communication. In all mental action the sense
of contrast is an especially lively one. In a later chapter this
principle, as applied to explanation and argument, will be discussed.
Just here, the point is that the constant study of contrasts will
sharpen the language sense and rapidly enlarge the vocabulary.
EXERCISES
1. Put down a group of five words having similar meanings. Explain the
differences among them.
2. Choose any word. Give its exact opposite.
3. From any short paragraph copy all the nouns. In a parallel column
put opposites or contrasts.
4. Do the same for the adjectives, verbs, and adverbs.
5. Write down all the common nouns which correspond to _a man_, _a
girl_, _a leader_, _a house_, _a costume_, _a crime_.
Composition of the English Language. Turning now from the means of
improving the speaker's language equipment let us pass to some remarks
upon his use of words. The English language is the largest, the most
varied in the universe. Almost entirely free from difficulties of
inflection and conjugation, with a simplified grammar, and a great
freedom of construction, it suffers from only two signal
drawbacks--its spelling and its pronunciation. While it has preserved
to a great degree its original Anglo-Saxon grammar, it has enriched
its vocabulary by borrowings from everywhere. Its words have no
distinctive forms, so every foreign word can usually be naturalized by
a mere change of sound. No matter what their origin, all belong to one
family now; _gnu_ is as much English as _knew_, _japan_ as _pogrom_,
_fête_ as _papoose_, _batik_ as _radii_, _ohm_ as _marconigram_,
_macadamized_ as _zoomed_. Most of the modern borrowings--as just
illustrated--were to serve for new things or ideas. But there was one
time when a great reduplication of the vocabulary occurred. After the
French conquered England in 1066, English and Norman-French were
spoken side by side. The resultant tongue, composed of both, offered
many doubles for the same idea. In some instances the fashionable and
aristocratic French word marked a difference of meaning as is clearly
indicated by such pairs as _beef_ and _ox_, _veal_ and _calf, mutton_
and _sheep_, _pork_ and _pig_. In many other cases words of French and
English origin are separated by differences less distinct. Such are
_love_ and _affection_, _worship_ and _adoration_. A speaker must take
thought of such groups, and consciously endeavor to use the more
appropriate for his purpose.
Anglo-Saxon and Romance. It may help him to remember that the
Anglo-Saxon words are the more homely, the closer to our everyday
feelings and experiences, the expression of our deepest ideas and
sentiments, the natural outspoken response to keen emotion. On the
other hand, the Romance words--as they are called, whether from the
French or directly from the Latin--are likely to be longer; they
belong generally to the more complicated relationships of society and
government; they are more intellectual in the sense that they
represent the operations of the brain rather than the impulses of the
heart. They deal with more highly trained wills, with more abstruse
problems; they reason, they argue, they consider; they are
philosophical, scientific, legal, historical. Listen to a soldier
relate his war experiences. What will his vocabulary be? Listen to a
diplomat explaining the League of Nations. What will his vocabulary
be? Have you ever heard a speaker who gave you the impression that all
his words ended in _tion_? This was because his vocabulary was
largely Romance.
The inferences from the foregoing are perfectly plain. Subject and
audience will determine to a large extent what kinds of words a
speaker will choose. The well-equipped speaker will be master of both
kinds; he will draw from either as occasion offers. He will not insult
one audience by talking below their intelligence, nor will he bore
another by speaking over their heads.
General and Specific Terms. Effective speaking depends to a large
extent upon the inclusion of specific terms as contrasted with general
terms. "Glittering generalities" never make people listen. They mean
nothing because they say too much. Study the following selections to
see how the concrete phraseology used makes the material more telling,
how it enforces the meaning. Pick out the best expressions and explain
why they are better than more general terms. In the first, note how
the last sentence drives home the meaning of the first two. Listeners
may understand the first two, they remember the last.
Civil and religious liberty in this country can be preserved
only through the agency of our political institutions. But
those institutions alone will not suffice. It is not the ship
so much as the skilful sailing that assures the prosperous
voyage.
GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS: _The Public Duty of Educated
Men_, 1877
Describe the significance of the best expressions in the following
speech made in Parliament by Thomas Babington Macaulay.
All those fierce spirits whom you hallooed on to harass us
now turn round and begin to worry you. The Orangeman raises
his war-whoop; Exeter Hall sets up its bray; Mr. Macneill
shudders to see more costly cheer than ever provided for the
Priest of Baal at the table of the Queen; and the Protestant
operatives of Dublin call for impeachments in exceedingly bad
English. But what did you expect? Did you think when, to
serve your turn, you called the devil up that it was as easy
to lay him as to raise him? Did you think when you went on,
session after session, thwarting and reviling those whom you
knew to be in the right, and flattering all the worst
passions of those whom you knew to be in the wrong, that the
day of reckoning would never come? It has come. There you
sit, doing penance for the disingenuousness of years.
Why was the style of the extract below especially good for the evident
purpose and audience? Why did the author use names for the candidates?
When an American citizen is content with voting merely, he
consents to accept what is often a doubtful alternative. His
first duty is to help shape the alternative. This, which was
formerly less necessary, is now indispensable. In a rural
community such as this country was a hundred years-ago,
whoever was nominated for office was known to his neighbors,
and the consciousness of that knowledge was a conservative
influence in determining nominations. But in the local
elections of the great cities of today, elections that
control taxation and expenditure, the mass of the voters vote
in absolute ignorance of the candidates. The citizen who
supposes that he does all his duty when he votes, places a
premium upon political knavery. Thieves welcome him to the
polls and offer him a choice, which he has done nothing to
prevent, between Jeremy Diddler and Dick Turpin. The party
cries for which he is responsible are: "Turpin and Honesty,"
"Diddler and Reform." And within a few years, as a result of
this indifference to the details of public duty, the most
powerful politicians in the Empire State of the Union was
Jonathan Wild, the Great, the captain of a band of
plunderers.
GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS: _The Public Duty of Educated
Men_, 1877
Appropriate Diction. The final test of any diction is its
appropriateness. The man who talks of dignified things as he would of
a baseball game--unless he is doing it deliberately for humor,
caricature, or burlesque--is ruining his own cause. The man who
discusses trifles in the style of philosophy makes himself an
egregious bore. As Shakespeare said, "Suit the action to the word, the
word to the action; with this special observance, that you o'erstep
not the modesty of nature."
Beware of the flowery expression; avoid metaphorical speech; flee from
the lure of the overwrought style. In the first place it is so
old-fashioned that audiences suspect it at once. It fails to move
them. It may plunge its user into ridiculous failure. In the
excitement of spontaneous composition a man sometimes takes risks. He
may--as Pitt is reported to have said he did--throw himself into a
sentence and trust to God Almighty to get him out. But a beginner had
better walk before he tries to soar. If he speaks surely rather than
amazingly his results will be better. The temptation to leave the
ground is ever present in speaking.
A Parliamentary debater describing the Church of England wound up in a
flowery conclusion thus: "I see the Church of England rising in the
land, with one foot firmly planted in the soil, the other stretched
toward Heaven!"
An American orator discussing the character of Washington discharged
the following.
The higher we rise in the scale of being--material,
intellectual, and moral--the more certainly we quit the
region of the brilliant eccentricities and dazzling contrasts
which belong to a vulgar greatness. Order and proportion
characterize the primordial constitution of the terrestrial
system; ineffable harmony rules the heavens. All the great
eternal forces act in solemn silence. The brawling torrent
that dries up in summer deafens you with its roaring
whirlpools in March; while the vast earth on which we dwell,
with all its oceans and all its continents and its thousand
millions of inhabitants, revolves unheard upon its soft axle
at the rate of a thousand miles an hour, and rushes
noiselessly on its orbit a million and a half miles a day.
Two storm-clouds encamped upon opposite hills on a sultry
summer's evening, at the expense of no more electricity,
according to Mr. Faraday, than is evolved in the
decomposition of a single drop of water, will shake the
surrounding atmosphere with their thunders, which, loudly as
they rattle on the spot, will yet not be heard at the
distance of twenty miles; while those tremendous and
unutterable forces which ever issue from the throne of God,
and drag the chariot wheels of Uranus and Neptune along the
uttermost path-ways of the solar system, pervade the
illimitable universe in silence.
Of course, today, nobody talks like that. At least no one should.
Trite Expressions. Less easily guarded against is the delivery of
trite expressions. These are phrases and clauses which at first were
so eloquent that once heard they stuck in people's minds, who then in
an endeavor themselves to be emphatic inserted continually into their
speeches these overworked, done-to-death expressions, which now
having been used too frequently have no real meaning. One of the most
frequently abused is "of the people, by the people, for the people."
Others are words and phrases made popular by the war. Many are no more
than jargon--meaningless counterfeits instead of the legal tender of
real speech. It is amazing to notice how persistently some of them
recur in the remarks of apparently well-trained men who should know
better than to insert them. The following were used by a prominent
United States political leader in a single speech. He could; easily
have replaced them by living material or dispensed with them entirely.
Jot or tittle; the plain unvarnished truth; God forbid; the jackal
press; that memorable occasion; tooth and nail; the God of our
fathers; the awful horrors of Valley Forge; the blood-stained heights
of Yorktown; tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of
Askalon; peace with honor; the Arabian Nights; Munchausen; the
fathers; our globe-encircling domain; I am a Democrat; the pirates of
the Barbary Coast; Democratic gospel pure and undefiled; Janus-faced
double; Good Lord, good devil; all things to all men; God-fearing
patriots; come what may; all things are fair in love or war; the
silken bowstring; the unwary voter; bait to catch gudgeons; to live by
or to die by; these obsequious courtiers; Guttenburg; rubber stamp; at
all hazards; the most unkindest cut of all.
With the artificiality, the stiltedness of the foregoing contrast the
simplicity, the sincerity of these two extracts from Abraham Lincoln.
And now, if they would listen--as I suppose they will not--I
would address a few words to the Southern people.
I would say to them: You consider yourselves a reasonable and
a just people; and I consider that in the general qualities
of reason and justice you are not inferior to any other
people. Still, when you speak of us Republicans, you do so
only to denounce us as reptiles, or, at the best, as no
better than outlaws. You will grant a hearing to pirates or
murderers, but nothing like it to "Black Republicans." In all
your contentions with one another, each of you deems an
unconditional condemnation of "Black Republicanism" as the
first thing to be attended to. Indeed, such condemnation of
us seems to be an indispensable prerequisite--license, so to
speak--among you to be admitted or permitted to speak at all.
Now can you or not be prevailed upon to pause and to consider
whether this is quite just to us, or even to yourselves?
Bring forward your charges and specifications, and then be
patient long enough to hear us deny or justify.
_Cooper Union Speech_, 1860
My Friends: No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my
feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the
kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived
a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an
old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried.
I now leave, not knowing when or whether ever I may return,
with a task before me greater than that which rested upon
Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who
ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I
cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain
with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope
that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I
hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an
affectionate farewell.
_Farewell Address at Springfield_, 1861
Kinds of Sentences. What kinds of sentences shall a speaker construct
as he speaks? That there is a difference between those a person
composes when he writes and those the same person is likely to evolve
when he speaks is realized by everyone. We hear that a speaker is
"booky," or conversational, that he is stilted or lively, that he is
too formal, that his discourse is dull and flat. To a great degree
these criticisms are based upon the sentence structure.
The Simple Sentence. The simple sentence contains only one subject and
one predicate. The complex sentence contains one independent clause
and at least one subordinate clause. The compound sentence contains
two or more independent clauses. It would be good advice to urge the
employment of the simple sentence were it not for the fact that a long
succession of sentences constructed exactly alike, making the same
impression of form and sound and length, is likely to produce a deadly
monotony of emphasis and pause, an impression of immaturity on the
part of the speaker and of lack of skill in molding his phrases. Yet,
in the main, the simple sentence is a valuable kind to know how to
deliver. Containing but a single thought it is likely to make a
definite impression upon a listener. It offers him not too much to
grasp. It leads him a single step along the way. It speaks clearly,
concisely. Its advantages follow from its qualities. At the beginning
of addresses it is especially efficient in leading the audience at the
same rate--slowly, it should be--as the speaker. In intricate
explanation, in close reasoning, in matters of paramount importance,
it should be employed.
Management of the short, simple sentence in written prose is
difficult. In spoken discourse, as well, it is so easy to fall into
the First Primer style that while the advantages of the use of the
simple sentence are great, the ability to produce good sentences in
succession must be developed.
The Complex Sentence. The complex sentence offers a good form for
introducing pertinent, minor details, which are necessary, yet which
do not merit inclusion in the general level of the speech. Aided by
proper pitch and inflection of the voice, they can be skilfully
subordinated to main ideas, yet introduced so adroitly that they at
times relieve attention, at others briefly explain, at others keep
adding up in a series the effect of which is a large total. Frequently
such sentences indicate clearly the progress of the discussion. A
topic introduced in a subordinate clause may later be raised to more
importance without abruptness, for hearers are already familiar with
it. A topic already treated may be recalled by citation in a later
clause. So various parts of a speech may be closely knit together to
present a coherent, progressive, unified whole.
In easily grasped general, descriptive, narrative, explanatory
material, complex sentences will allow the covering of a wide field,
or a long time, in short order by condensing facts into the few words
of subordinate clauses.
The Compound Sentence. Somewhat like the use of complex sentences for
general material is the use of compound ones for informal topics,
familiar discourse, easy address, lighter material. Valuable, too, is
this form for the speaker who knows accurately the meaning of
conjunctions, who can avoid the stringing together of what should be
simple sentences by a dozen senseless _ands_. A good rule for the
beginner is to allow no _ands_ in his speeches except those so
imbedded in phrases--husband and wife, now and then, principal and
interest--that he cannot avoid them. Let him never speak such
sentences as, "I came to this meeting and discovered only when I got
here that I was scheduled to speak." Let him be careful of beginning
sentence's with _and_ after he has made a pause.
The Exclamatory Sentence. Many speakers yield to the temptation to
strive for effect by delivering exclamatory sentences--sometimes only
clauses and phrases so enunciated. The disposition to do this is born
of the desire to be emphatic. Strong feeling makes one burst out in
ejaculation. Used sparingly this form may be extremely effective. Used
too frequently it reduces a speech to a mere series of ejaculations of
little more value than a succession of grunts, groans, and sobs.
Exclamatory sentences seldom convey much meaning. They indicate
emotion. But a speech, to be worth listening to, must convey ideas.
The Interrogative Sentence. A second sentence which may be classed
with the preceding is the interrogative. There is a disposition on the
part of speakers to ask direct questions of the audience. Frequently
the rhetorical question--which is one asked because the answer is the
quite apparent fact the speaker wants to impress upon his hearers--is
an effective method of making a seemingly personal appeal to sluggish
intellects or lazy wills. The interrogative form has the same
disadvantage as the exclamatory. Except when its answer is perfectly
plain it transfers no meaning. It would be easily possible for a
speaker with no ideas at all, no knowledge of a topic, to engage time
and attention by merely constructing a series of questions. At the
conclusion the audience would wonder why in the world he spoke, for he
had so little to say.
Long and Short Sentences. So far as long and short sentences are
concerned some general rules have already been hinted at in dealing
with other kinds. The advantages of the short sentence are mainly
those of clearness, directness, emphasis. Its dangers are monotony,
bareness, over-compactness. The advantages of the long--that is, quite
long--sentence, are rather difficult to comprehend. A wordy sentence
is likely to defeat its own purpose. Instead of guiding it will lose
its hearer. Somewhat long sentences--as already said--will serve in
general discussions, in rapidly moving descriptive and narrative
passages, in rather simple explanation and argument. No one can state
at just what number of words a short sentence becomes medium, and when
the division of medium becomes long. Yet there must be some limits. A
sentence in _Les Misérables_ includes nearly one thousand words in
both French original and English translation. John Milton produced
some extraordinarily long sentences. But these are in written
discourse. Some modern speakers have come dangerously near the limit.
In one printed speech one sentence has four hundred ten words in it; a
later one goes to five hundred forty. This second would fill about
half a column of the usual newspaper. Surely these are much too long.
A speaker can frequently make a long sentence acceptable by breaking
it up into shorter elements by sensible pauses. Yet the general
direction must surely be: avoid sentences which are too long.
Variety. The paramount rule of sentence structure in speech-making is
certainly: secure variety. Long, medium, short; declarative,
exclamatory, interrogative; simple, loose, periodic; use them all as
material permits and economy of time and attention prescribes. With
the marvelous variety possible in English sentence structure, no
person with ideas and language at command need be a monotonous
speaker.
EXERCISES
1. Criticize this selection for its diction and sentence structure.
What excellences has it? What can you find fault with? Does its date
explain it?
"The books in the library, the portraits, the table at which
he wrote, the scientific culture of the land, the course of
agricultural occupation, the coming-in of harvests, fruit of
the seed his own hand had scattered, the animals and
implements of husbandry, the trees planted by him in lines,
in copses, in orchards by thousands, the seat under the noble
elm on which he used to sit to feel the southwest wind at
evening, or hear the breathings of the sea, or the not less
audible music of the starry heavens, all seemed at first
unchanged. The sun of a bright day from which, however,
something of the fervors of midsummer were wanting, fell
temperately on them all, filled the air on all sides with the
utterances of life, and gleamed on the long line of ocean.
Some of those whom on earth he loved best, still were there.
The great mind still seemed to preside; the great presence to
be with you; you might expect to hear again the rich and
playful tones of the voice of the old hospitality. Yet a
moment more, and all the scene took on the aspect of one
great monument, inscribed with his name, and sacred to his
memory. And such it shall be in all the future of America!
The sensation of desolateness, and loneliness, and darkness,
with which you see it now, will pass away; the sharp grief of
love and friendship will become soothed; men will repair
thither as they are wont to commemorate the great days of
history; the same glance shall take in, and same emotions
shall greet and bless, the Harbor of the Pilgrims and the
Tomb of Webster."
RUFUS CHOATE: _A Discourse Commemorative of Daniel
Webster_, 1853
2. What is the effect of the questions in the following? Are the
sentences varied? If the occasion was momentous, what is the style?
"And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been
in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten
years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been
pleased to solace themselves and the house? Is it that
insidious smile with which our petition has been lately
received? Trust it not, Sir; it will prove a snare to your
feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask
yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition
comports with those warlike preparations which cover our
water and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to
a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so
unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to
win back our love?"
PATRICK HENRY: _Speech in the Virginia Convention_,
1775
3. List the concrete details given below. What effect have they? What
elements give the idea of the extent of the Colonies' fisheries? Are
the sentences long or short? Does their success justify them?
"Look at the manner in which the people of New England have
of late carried on the whale fishery. Whilst we follow them
among the tumbling mountains of ice, and behold them
penetrating into the deepest frozen recess of Hudson's Bay
and Davis' Straits, whilst we are looking for them beneath
the arctic circle, we hear that they have pierced into the
opposite region of polar cold, that they are at the
antipodes, and engaged under the frozen Serpent of the South.
Falkland Islands, which seemed too remote and romantic an
object for the grasp of national ambition, is but a stage and
resting-place in the progress of their victorious industry.
Nor is the equinoctial heat more discouraging to them than
the accumulated winter of both the poles. We know that whilst
some of them draw the line and strike the harpoon on the
coast of Africa, others run the longitude and pursue their
gigantic game along the coast of Brazil. No sea but what is
vexed by their fisheries; no climate that is not witness to
their toil. Neither the perseverance of Holland, nor the
activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of
English enterprise ever carried this most perilous mode of
hardy industry to the extent to which it has been pushed by,
this recent people; a people who are still, as it were, but
in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of
manhood."
EDMUND BURKE: _Conciliation with America_, 1775
4. Is the following clear? What kind of sentence is it? What minor
phrase? Is this phrase important? Why? Why did Lincoln repeat this
sentence, practically with no change, twelve times in a single speech?
"The sum of the whole is that of our thirty-nine fathers who
framed the original Constitution, twenty-one--a clear
majority of the whole--certainly understood that no proper
division of local from Federal authority, nor any part of the
Constitution, forbade the Federal Government to control
slavery in the Federal Territories."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: _Cooper Union Speech_, 1860
5. Is the following well phrased? What makes it so? Is any expression
too strong? Do you object to any? How many of the words would you be
likely not to use?
"It is but too true that there are many whose whole scheme of
freedom is made up of pride, perverseness, and insolence.
They feel themselves in a state of thraldom; they imagine
that their souls are cooped and cabined in, unless they have
some man, or some body of men, dependent on their mercy. The
desire of having some one below them descends to those who
are the very lowest of all; and a Protestant cobbler, debased
by his poverty, but exalted by his share of the ruling
church, feels a pride in knowing it is by his generosity
alone that the peer, whose footman's instep he measures, is
able to keep his chaplain from a gaol. This disposition is
the true source of the passion which many men, in very humble
life, have taken to the American war. Our subjects in
America; our colonies; our dependents. This lust of party
power is the liberty they hunger and thirst for; and this
Siren song of ambition has charmed ears that we would have
thought were never organized to that sort of music."
EDMUND BURKE: _Speech at Bristol_, 1780
6. Describe the effects of the questions in the next. How is sentence
variety secured? What effects have the simple, declarative sentences?
"And from what have these consequences sprung? We have been
involved in no war. We have been at peace with all the world.
We have been visited with no national calamity. Our people
have been advancing in general intelligence, and, I will add,
as great and alarming as has been the advance of political
corruption among the mercenary corps who look to government
for support, the morals and virtue of the community at large
have been advancing in improvement. What, I again repeat, is
the cause?"
JOHN C. CALHOUN: _Speech on the Force Bill_, 1833
7. What quality predominates in the following? Does it lower the tone
of the passage too much? Is the interrogative form of the last
sentence better than the declarative? Why? Has the last observation
any close connection with the preceding portion? Can it be justified?
"Modesty is a lovely trait, which sets the last seal to a
truly great character, as the blush of innocence adds the
last charm to youthful beauty. When, on his return from one
of his arduous campaigns in the Seven Years' War, the Speaker
of the Virginia Assembly, by order of the House, addressed
Colonel Washington in acknowledgment of his services, the
youthful hero rose to reply; but humility checked his
utterance, diffidence sealed his lips. 'Sit down, Colonel
Washington,' said the Speaker; 'the House sees that your
modesty is equal to your merit, and that exceeds my power of
language to describe.' But who ever heard of a modest
Alexander or a modest Caesar, or a modest hero or statesman
of the present day?--much as some of them would be improved
by a measure of that quality."
EDWARD EVERETT: _Character of Washington_, 1858
8. Look up the meaning of every unfamiliar expression in this extract.
Is the quotation at the end in good taste? Give reasons for your
answer. For what kinds of audiences would this speech be fitting?
"The remedy for the constant excess of party spirit lies, and
lies alone, in the courageous independence of the individual
citizen. The only way, for instance, to procure the party
nomination of good men, is for every self-respecting voter to
refuse to vote for bad men. In the medieval theology the
devils feared nothing so much as the drop of holy water and
the sign of the cross, by which they were exorcised. The evil
spirits of party fear nothing so much as bolting and
scratching. _In hoc signo vinces_. If a farmer would reap a
good crop, he scratches the weeds out of his field. If we
would have good men upon the ticket, we must scratch bad men
off. If the scratching breaks down the party, let it break:
for the success of the party, by such means would break down
the country. The evil spirits must be taught by means that
they can understand. 'Them fellers,' said the captain of a
canal-boat of his men, 'Them fellers never think you mean a
thing until you kick 'em. They feel that, and understand.'"
GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS: _The Public Duty of Educated
Men_, 1877
9. Describe the quality of the next extract. What is its style? Are
repetitions allowable? What then of variety? Point out contrasts of
words and phrases.
"What, then it is said, would you legislate in haste? Would
you legislate in times of great excitement concerning matters
of such deep concern? Yes, Sir, I would; and if any bad
consequences should follow from the haste and excitement, let
those be answerable who, when there was no need to haste,
when there existed no excitement, refused to listen to any
project of reform; nay, made it an argument against reform
that the public mind was not excited.... I allow that hasty
legislation is an evil. But reformers are compelled to
legislate fast, just because bigots will not legislate early.
Reformers are compelled to legislate in times of excitement,
because bigots will not legislate in times of tranquillity."
THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY: _On the Reform Bill_,
1832
10. Describe the diction of the next extract. Describe the prevailing
kind of sentences. Do you approve of these in such an instance?
Explain your answer. Does it remind you--in tone--of any other passage
already quoted in this book? What is your opinion of the style?
"There has been a change of government. It began two years
ago, when the House of Representatives became Democratic by a
decisive majority. It has now been completed. The Senate
about to assemble will also be Democratic. The offices of
President and Vice-President have been put into the hands of
Democrats. What does the change mean? That is the question
that is uppermost in our minds today. That is the question I
am going to try to answer in order, if I may, to interpret
the occasion.
"This is not a day of triumph; it is a day of dedication.
Here muster, not the forces of party, but the forces of
humanity. Men's hearts wait upon us; men's lives hang in the
balance; men's hopes call upon us to say what we will do. Who
shall live up to the great trust? Who dares fail to try? I
summon all honest men, all patriotic, all forward-looking men
to my side. God helping me, I will not fail them, if they
will but counsel and sustain me."
WOODROW WILSON: _Inaugural_, 1918
11. Consider sentence length in the following: Which words are
significant? How is concreteness secured?
"Ours is a government of liberty by, through, and under the
law. No man is above it and no man is below it. The crime of
cunning, the crime of greed, the crime of violence, are all
equally crimes, and against them all alike the law must set
its face. This is not and never shall be a government either
of plutocracy or of a mob. It is, it has been, and it will be
a government of the people; including alike the people of
great wealth, of moderate wealth, the people who employ
others, the people who are employed, the wage worker, the
lawyer, the mechanic, the banker, the farmer; including them
all, protecting each and everyone if he acts decently and
squarely, and discriminating against any one of them, no
matter from what class he comes, if he does not act squarely
and fairly, if he does not obey the law. While all people are
foolish if they violate or rail against the law, wicked as
well as foolish, but all foolish--yet the most foolish man in
this Republic is the man of wealth who complains because the
law is administered with impartial justice against or for
him. His folly is greater than the folly of any other man who
so complains; for he lives and moves and has his being
because the law does in fact protect him and his property."
THEODORE ROOSEVELT at Spokane, 1903