| Show The Practical Value lof of English EnglishBy By Osborne Widtsoe B. B S. S AM A.M. Head of English Department Department Depart Depart- 1 ment L. L D. D S. S High School I I S More thou than t twenty ml ago a 1 Chinese educator sul said that lint without knowing tho force Coree o of wun s It IL Is I impossible to know men What hut did the tue ol old philosopher hr moan JUlan Many fany times students have asked me what whal particular lar ar benefit they 11 1 would woul derive from rom Iho lIw lii stu study of oC English grammar an and compoI compo compo- I In Invariably I have 1111 thought of oC the old Chinese dictum and have wondered won won- dered If it an iLU adequate t were not contained In It In wor words s 11 He lie preserved the histories of or nations timid and the histories his his- tories cries of oC nations ar are arc tho time biographies lles I of If ii In no flu other wa way then by then by stretch of or deductive reasoning the I Mt study uly of or language is of ur practical benefit benefit bene bene- fit In revealing re the time hIfe and purposes c of oC tho great greal ones one who have ha gono gone before I I II I However cl the lie student of or today lives 11 In the tho present and amid wants ts to know I 1 suppose of what practical value value- tIlt the lie I study of or English l ln n lIsh will be lie to him u In Inthe the he world of or lOlla today 1 I take It that lint all ull allmen ulli i men inca a lii III this llila that lint any se of study be hl it il In III English or ot chemistry or i or what hiat not should prepare tIme the luI better to accomplish 1 push the lie task set him to do In 11 other I words all till e education should he be emphatically em practical should be of oC such Much sucha a nature that Il Its results nm- nm may h bo hl apr ant ap- ap r t lied at once otice III In the Ito vocations of of life liCe There I Is 11 no ii higher r a aim hun says nays an un eminent emin ent It t scholar cholar than hunt that hat of or gaining an nn honest eat livi living it g Most lost Inmost hottest livings I however er are arc gained alne 1 by hand work not IJ bs by head work It becomes the lie business of or education then lit to train the lie head had headin hadIn in such UI a tu Wit way that iett It shall shah sl th the hands and titus thus lr prevent nt t both hoUI error anti and los loss D Does Docs I c-I the lie Kludy of train the till student III In such sue a l way ivay III In beginning to 10 answer this his question I 1 might well veIl put forth Corth another I love Have yOu yon 1 ever 11 1 been asked What hat do O you Oll mean Perhaps c you JOIl have written on some Important subject to a a- friend and kl have been misunderstood and arid lia lut j lo lost host t your our friend Or perhaps tho the re result re re- su still sult It ha lias been serious in hut some other othmer WU O hR acted aced when have hu UY mm n you oU really wJ wished them not to act or they have ha misunderstood and amid have done tho Ito wrong and thing And if IC you youhao I havo o them for Cor acting thus at itt er cros ss 8 purpose have they not nul re rc re- re torte Well Vell what then slId did you yon 1 mean ln Your explanation will of course mako f clear dar what before has been obscure Hut hub the explanation comes COllie too 00 late lille already ully one ono failure Is recorded against your our life lIr Because your your- our meaning hitt has been lost IJ by tho Ito mis- mis US U ube of or words i r 1 Ii h liy ambiguity in the on l of uC if your den sentences yoi- yoi yov OW mum forever rore the humiliation oi or of defeat at I I And AnU It It is hero that butt wo we huH find Ind the tHe alu ahl of of- of ofu u IL thorough knowledge of II ii- ii age JC 1 s pr prO U Y practical one cue Tho fhe trend rein of or modern education is is rightly practical Industrial life But civilization has now advanced nd to su u Jh h a Ct stags ta th that bitt ll n ii mans man's success depends upon Ills hIs Intellectual forming and It is III not enough h that a practical life liCe shall havo t tl nu phi a n man how to 10 do a a. thing Be ne- sides shiles Irl s he must win for or himself a Jn Jim the ranks o of or intelligent competitors And to do this ho lie must have ha broad brond Intellectual training lie ht must be able to 10 understand tho the words of other men ho must be able ablo to make his own plans clearly understood by them A recent advertisement of or a new encyclopedia says Tho world makes way ny f for Or r the tIme theman theman man who knows So it does Indeed if IC the he man who knows knows also how to Impart clearly the Information ho lie possesses An And only a somewhat thoroll thorough h knowe knowledge g of or lan language can give Eh him that hat to much and hl highly prized ability In tho lie cuz j lum lurn of or a mu practical school English i Is 1 J then one of or the tn input st l of i up I S Now OW to bring thin tile matter me mc Illustrate by a a. i few simple but bUl linc Instances Our schools ls of today are re hundred o of steno These mitcH men told and women trained In Iii it n special activity enter at nt once Into t the lIme hl broad field of 51 thou th They are arC employed by ly mer merchants 1 by engineers engineer b by hr Ia lawyers lawyer by hy doctors by men nen of ur letters letter AH As th days go 0 h by first ono one of or thc these hose graduates In stenography steno t J. J graphy ri ph Is dropped by hy hf his hf employer then another and til another and ancl another until j crimps g fifty per pcr cent of tho hose e originally graduated ra arc without em cm- What t Is the blue mailer One Oho of th theta them cannot spell another knows nh absolutely nothing of ur sentence structure S ture yet el another lets has never nC heard of the he paragraph not nol one of or them hem lia has learned the lie correct tome line of oC the marks o of punctuation not hot aim ono s if r them has line thought of or the th correct or 1 tho ho Incorrect use of ur words la is s It an on el that the they arc ute crowded out by ly those who iho have lIIa mastered the lie art urt o of expression Again consider the time needs of oC of oC technical and scientific subjects Surd Surely 8 says 14 sonic some one nc th they hey tire arc nrc as us truly trimly acquiring ti U practical training when th they timey arc mire learning how to express themselves them I selves seles clearly clearl us as when whit thc they tire arc perform per per- form I rig experiments In the ite shops or orIn orn In iii n the time laboratory The flue day y will ivill conic wh when n these will need to mako maleo reports to large corporations or to government gov gov- o officials or or perhaps the they will to C set act forth Corth for railroads rC reservoirs canals or other engineering projects Facility and tuil IIII clearness In the theart theart theart art of oC expression will then hemm coun count t for tor everything c ng Competition Is fierce fiere III In er e every line flume the he man who ho clouds his hiM meaning or loses It In tho US of or wortis' wortis or the ambiguous construction con con- of oC sentences will then surety surely 50 go down In iii defeat In tills ImIs connection Jet let ct me Inc quote from a a. letter sent out not mint S long ago ajo by u large business house of or orthe the lie Cast Bas Tho Thio fact I iii Is that lawyers have hae lost cases case cases preacher have hl rail failed e. e S Sto to arouse conviction con authors have hav had their manuscripts refused advertisers S Shave I. I have waSt wasted d thousands au R nf or dollars dollars' in profitless appeals to the time lu public ail ulic 1 all be tc because cause cau J lh the words wor s they boy used lit lii poorly constructed sentence did not carr carry the lie force and nud meaning tIle thc they Intended tl In lii I cr c every field CleM of ur life then lit-it a nu ler oi or I Is h. required A clerk cannot sell goods successfully a solicitor cannot can can- S not nOl win it-in converts to il v u n new w enterprise I L the unemployed cau cannot I. I obtain positions S that taut pay without it mu of oC correct cor cor- reel and Ond forceful English Even tho tim t l fanner UK ut the tho he science c of or agriculture ag ng- ag- ag u e stands today is likely to lose loge one one halt his lr profits if tf he 11 1 13 15 not nol trained 1 to 10 understand taa fl th w of utiler j. j 1 I men tuen and to express cleur t I lucidly u forcibly to them The hC truth or of t wJ l 1 i l to be 10 c i 1 ll I loil y 00 nan it Wom l o J nhi achieve eminence eminence- JU J LillY any line Hue wj wi 1 lI being ible l to p l i l ly ly tie J r least fairly k d E JJ TIle The high high- r BL SL skill kill iii in expression that cul cun bo be acquired ac no- Is Isi of ot practical II value In very every T profession The man who i c.-i can J wr write Ie well 11 has a fl decided advantage t. from tho Ow mi start while the Inability to tu I thought ht clearly an aul forcibly limits lie lieI I pO possibilities of 0 mun many otherwise splendidly nI n- n equipped men incH ell Such Inability I Imprisons m many inan n a brilliant brillia ii t In Intellect e it t binds as ns with chains many u LL mal mal- rul spirit Indeed the lie noblest t are aro powerless 8 to do good un- un I less lesa they con cnn adequate adequate- nde c- c sion I It has line been beell said that a mastery mastel of or words l lend ul to a l mastery of ot men men men-a a inns inns- tr try tiry of or business a a mastery master tiu that com coin pta If ls success and that to be lie under under- i Tood iod lO Is Iu Ithe the time masterful thing in Jit the th lit world today Without knowing tIm tho fo-cp fo of words v It is Impossible to 10 know men |
