Dear Comrade:
In this lesson we are taking up the study of interjections.
Interjections are the language of emotion. This was probably the
earliest form of speech. You notice that children use these exclamations
often, and the sounds which are imitations of the noises about them.
This language belongs also to the savage, whose peculiar and expressive
grunts contain whole areas of condensed thought. As we progress from
feeling to thinking, the use of the interjection diminishes.
You will not find interjections used in a book on mathematics or
physical science or history. To attempt to read one of these books may
make you use interjections and express your emotion in violent language,
but you will not find interjections in these books. These books of
science are books that express thought and not feeling. But if you turn
to fiction and to oratory you will find the interjection used freely,
for these are the books which treat of the human emotions and feelings.
Especially in poetry will you find the interjection used, for poetry is
the language of feeling and the interjection is an important part of the
poet's stock in trade.
In conversation, these exclamatory words are very useful. They fill the
gaps in our conversation and they help to put the listener and the
speaker in touch with one another. They are usually accompanied by a
gesture, which adds force to the word. The tone of the voice in which
they are expressed also means a great deal. You can say, Oh! in half a
dozen different ways; you may express surprise, wonder, joy, sorrow,
pain, or disgust. A great many different and widely separated feelings
can be expressed simply by the tone in which you use the exclamatory
words. Some one has said that these words grease the wheels of talk.
They serve to help the timid, to give time to the unready and to keep up
a pleasant semblance of familiarity.
When we use them in the stress of emotion to express deep feeling, their
use is perfectly justified. But one author has called these words "the
miserable refuge of the speechless." We use them many times because we
have no words with which to express ourselves. This use is unjustified.
Be careful that you do not use them in this way. It has been said that
the degree of a man's civilization can be pretty fairly judged by the
expletives which he uses. Do not sprinkle your conversation with
interjections and even stronger words because you are at a loss for
other words.
There is a rich mine of words at your disposal. Do not be satisfied with
bits of glass that have no value, when the rich diamonds of real
expression can be yours for just a little digging. Save your emotional
language for the time when you really need it to express deep emotion.
Yours for Education,