Slang And Bad Grammar

The Dumber of persons who habitually use language free froui slang and bad grauiuiar is very small. And the reason of this is easy to see. Those who have never studipd jrmiiuiu of mui - Wp huvoc of their uiother-tongue continually, and very many of those who have studied it have studied it as a theory, or because it's the proper thing to study graaimar, and not because they wish to "speak and write the English language with propriety." Many of those who understaud grammar, and know theoretically how to use the moods and tense, adverbs and ad jeciives, numbers and case, are so fettered by habits of incorrect speaking and by the usage ot' those about them that it is nest to ioipossibie lor them to root out errors frona their speech. We know a teacher of considerable distinction who invanably saya "I doneit," "they done it," we have went," and a number of such solé cisms, not because he doesn't know botter, but because he has had no kind friend to insist that he should do so, and to holp hiin in the task. It' professional teachers habitually use bad graminar what can we expect froni pupils ? Then as to slang. What a vast atnount of it is in use ! It is the common spice in the talk of those who decline to use protano CAproccinnfl. aa coniiuon as cinnaiuon or nutuieg ïu apple-pie. We hear it on the street, in the drawing-room, and souietimes in the pulpit. With slang a great deal of dialect talk has become mixed in uur common speech. There is no valid objection to dialect talk if we don't have too much of it. We know a teacher whose whole stock of wit was invested in the use of fuony negro talk, and she carried it so far that she used it unconsciously on all occasions, and infected the fatnily of the principal of the school in which she was teaching to such an extent that thcy insenaibly feil into the same habit. Surely there is no beauty in this that one should desire it. But is one never to indulge in pleasantries of this sort? Not to such an extent as will dull their appreciation of clear, correct, plain EnglisL. It is a reproach to us that the purest English is spoken by educated foreigners. It may be ;hat evon they speak as much slang and Dad grammar in their own tongue as we do i) ours, but it is a pleasuro to hear trom hoir lips the unadulterated, well composed Ënglish that " sounds like a book." Many persons haven' t the courage to speak correctly wlien those around them speak incorrectly. It seems like affectation of superiority. As well might one refuse to keep clean in the midst of dirty )eoplc, to keep honest among thieves. The principie is the saaie. When we set out to attain excellence in any one branch we must of necessity disregard all unrealonable, adverse critioism. If my friend aughs at me for beiog a purist in speech, ie is welcome to the laugh. I have the (est of it in the speech. Any one who eally undertakes to weed out doubtful and ad slang and ungrammatical expressions 'rom las language can tind help at unall expense and with little trouble. All our common text-books on grammar contain he urdinary solecisms in use with their correotions. A little book entitle.l " Praciüal Lesüons in English," by Sill, will be bund very useful in this respect. Thcn when one reads, careful observation of the onstructioiis uscd, and the words selected o oonvey the writer's thought, will bo bund helpful. Most efficiënt of all aids is a kind and judicious friend to rebuke erors and aid in thoir oorrection.