PURITY OF SPEECH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2443, 6 March 1909, Page 11 (Supplement)

PURITY OF SPEECH.

THE USE OF SLANG. That well-known writer, Margaret E. Sangster, puts up “A Plea forth© Purity of Speech.” She. remarks: By purity of speech is meant something more than the omission of vulgar phrases that ought not to be used by any self-respecting person. A girl should not slip into careless modes of speech. We all owe something to our mother tongue. With eyes shut I can tell whether the girl beside me is a lady (or shall I say gentlewoman) or the opposite?. -I have only to hear her speak. There has been in recent years a reaction against the beautiful word “lady/’ because it has often been misapplied. Really there is no reason why we should hesitate to use it in describing' an attractive, .polite and agreeable -woman. A charming writer has given the definition of lady as a woman in a high state of civilisatiaon. lam sure you prefer to be considered highly civilized to being thought savages and barbarians.

When I hear a girl say, “By Jove,” “It was something fierce” or “That’s too thin,” or “You’re up against it,” or “Heavens, Maud,” I need nothing beyond this to convince me that she is not altogether a lady. She may be a good-hearted, well-meaning giij, but girls, she proclaims to the universe that she is common.

Nobody wants to be stamped as common. To say of anyone that she is kind-hearted, good-natured, willing to serve a. friend, 'and that she honestly pays her way, is to say. that she is a respectable member of society, but if one has to add to this that she is common or ordinary, or anything a littlo below par is to indicate a fatal defect.

Parity of speech requires the omission of §lang and of silly, superfluous phrases. The latter, while perhaps not profane, are often not refined, and snows that one’s association hare been with low and ill-bred persons. If I were a girl I would make up my mind once for all that my words should fairly represent the thing I meant to say. To think before yeti speak is an excellent rule. I would never say “hadn’t ought ' or “aint” or use a singular verb with a plural noun. Most girls have gone through grammar school, if no further, aud they have been taught what is right and what is wrong in framing a sentence in English. „ . Vocabulary is another matter. \\ o acquire a good stock of words for daily use, a working vocabulary, that is, partly bv our own pains and care, partly by listening to others who use good language, and partly by evervday reading a few pages in a book that is worth attention. We are not likely to add very much to our vocabulary if we limit our reading to sensational novels. . No matter how busy a girl is, she should try to keep some good book on hand and read it through page by pao-e. More than most girls think they enrich their vocabulary by regularly attending church services. The habit of listening to. sermons does more for you than its first object, which is to lift the mind into an atmosphere of devotion. It adds lit - by little to your treasury of beautiful and well-chosen words. Try to avoid impurity of speecii. A diamond loses its value the instant it reveals a flaw.