Show r take rake mij word I 1 I 1 ai for it I 1 1 sy by FRANK COLBY 1 MILITARY dictionary I 1 want to chide schoolteachers school teachers a little today but in a friendly manner as halsey would say by again pointing out the improper telescoping of such words as secretary dictionary tio nary military cemetery et cetera many teachers whom I 1 have talked to have ad adopted optea the british manner of saying saying such words as secret ry dictionary diction ry military mil itry ce metry believing such pronunciations ciati ons sto to be somehow more cultivated tiva ted than the customary and traditional american pronunciation in which all four syllables are distinctly pronounced the truth is such unlovely cocu eions as secretary sec retry dictionary diction ry are british corruptions corrupt ions of very recent origin and are not sanctis sanctioned by british authorities here is evidence that the british manner of smothering the ary words has come about only in recent years here are three lines of iden 1 meter they are f from rom the works respectively of three english writers shakespeare wordsworth 1770 1850 and tennyson 1809 1892 nor customary suits of solemn black above the reach of ordinary men I 1 found it all a visionary name flame surely no one with a an n ear tor for good english would recite these lines with the decadent pronunciations customary cust omry ordinary ordin ry vision ry nor would anyone even attempt to telescope such ary words as temporary sanguinary dignitary functionary february january a ry arbitrary sanctuary solitary dest best american usage and the accepted american dictionaries give such words four distinct syllables with a secondary accent on the third syllable thus didshun AIK ee MILLI TAIR ee I 1 |