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Show OUR -MUCH ABUSED LANGUAGE Americans Notorious tho World Over for Their Faulty Articulation-Reform Articulation-Reform Is Needed. That a reform In our habits of spoech Is necessary has long been conceded by the uioro Intelligent person. per-son. Americans nro notorious, tho world over, for their faulty articulation; and this unwlso economy of vocal energy has not only disfigured our language to tho ear, but Iiub also given aid and comfort to tho so-called roformors of our spoiling. If tho word progrnm, for Instance, Is ropentedly heard aB program (or program), with strong accent on tho llrst syllable and almost no vowel sound In tho Bocond, why, it is asked, should It not bo written as It la pronounced? pro-nounced? No wonder that our country coun-try takes tho lead In "spelling ro-form," ro-form," having alroady so effectually divorced tho spoken from tho wrltton language. Strango and startling aro tho tricks that mispronunciation plays with spelling. Lamentably common Is it to meet with tho expression "would of" for "would hnvo" in tho correspondence corre-spondence of tho careless In speech. Tho now nil but universal use of will for Bhall nnd of would for should Is probably duo largely to tho greatc.' case of saying "I will" or "I'll," "wo will" or "we'll," "I would" or "I'd," "w'd," than of articulating "1 shall," "I should," etc. Thus tho ovll results of slovenly utterance ut-terance show themselves In grammar as woll as In spelling, and tho stately structure of our ancestral tongue Ib slowly but surely yielding to tho Insidious In-sidious assaults of carelessness, abuse Indolence, mlstnken zeal In efforts at reform and other influences. |