Public Speaking Part 3

15. Learning condemns beyond the reach of hope The careless lips that speak of s[)o]ap for soap; Her edict exiles from her fair abode The clownish voice that utters r[)o]ad for road; Less stern to him who calls his coat a c[)o]at, And steers his boat believing it a b[)o]at.

She pardoned one, our cla.s.sic city's boast, Who said at Cambridge, m[)o]st instead of most, But knit her brows and stamped her angry foot To hear a Teacher call a root a r[)o]ot.

16. Hear the tolling of the bells-- Iron bells!

What a world of solemn thought their monody compels!

In the silence of the night, How we s.h.i.+ver with affright At the melancholy menace of their tone!

For every sound that floats From the rust within their throats Is a groan.

And the people--ah, the people-- They that dwell up in the steeple, All alone, And who, tolling, tolling, tolling, In that m.u.f.fled monotone, Feel a glory in so rolling On the human heart a stone-- They are neither man nor woman-- They are neither brute nor human-- They are Ghouls: And their king it is who tolls; And he rolls, rolls, rolls, Rolls A Paean from the bells!

And his merry bosom swells With the paean of the bells!

And he dances, and he yells; Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme, To the paean of the bells-- Of the bells.

17. Collecting, projecting, Receding and speeding, And shocking and rocking, And darting and parting.

And threading and spreading, And whizzing and hissing, And dripping and skipping, And hitting and splitting, And s.h.i.+ning and twining, And rattling and battling, And shaking and quaking, And pouring and roaring, And waving and raving, And tossing and crossing, And flowing and going, And running and stunning, And foaming and roaming, And dinning and spinning, And dropping and hopping, And working and jerking, And guggling and struggling, And heaving and cleaving, And moaning and groaning;

And glittering and frittering, And gathering and feathering, And whitening and brightening, And quivering and s.h.i.+vering, And hurrying and skurrying, And thundering and floundering;

Dividing and gliding and sliding, And falling and brawling and sprawling, And driving and riving and striving, And sprinkling and twinkling and wrinkling, And sounding and bounding and rounding, And bubbling and troubling and doubling, And grumbling and rumbling and tumbling, And clattering and battering and shattering;

Retreating and beating and meeting and sheeting, Delaying and straying and playing and spraying, Advancing and prancing and glancing and dancing, Recoiling, turmoiling and toiling and boiling, And gleaming and streaming and steaming and beaming, And rus.h.i.+ng and flus.h.i.+ng and brus.h.i.+ng and gus.h.i.+ng, And flapping and rapping and clapping and slapping, And curling and whirling and purling and twirling, And thumping and plumping and b.u.mping and jumping, And das.h.i.+ng and flas.h.i.+ng and splas.h.i.+ng and clas.h.i.+ng; And so never ending, but always descending, Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending, All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar; And this way the water comes down at Lodore.

18. Sister Susie's sewing s.h.i.+rts for soldiers, Such skill at sewing s.h.i.+rts our shy young Sister Susie shows.

Some soldiers send epistles Say they'd rather sleep in thistles Than the saucy, soft, short s.h.i.+rts for soldiers Sister Susie sews.

CHAPTER III

WORDS AND SENTENCES

Vocabularies. The collection of words a person can command either in use or understanding is a vocabulary. Every person has three distinct ones: his reading vocabulary, his writing vocabulary, his speaking vocabulary. Of these, the reading vocabulary is the largest. There are thousands of words he recognizes in reading and although he might not be able to construct a dictionary definition for everyone, he has a sufficiently clear idea to grasp the meaning. In this rude approximation to sense he is aided by the context, but for all practical purposes he understands the word. If he were writing, carefully taking time to note exactly what he was expressing, he might recall that word and so consciously put it into a sentence. He might use it in exactly the same sense in which he had seen it in print. But never in the rush of ideas and words in spoken discourse would he risk using a word he knew so slightly. If nothing more, he would beware of misp.r.o.nunciation.

Thus a person could easily deduce from his reading that a _hangar_ is a building to house airplanes. He might--to avoid repeating the word _shed_ too frequently--use it in writing. But until he was absolutely certain of its significance and its sound he would hardly venture to say it to other men.

Spoken discourse is so alive, it moves so rapidly, that it is never so precise, so varied in its choice of words, as written material. The phraseology of written discourse sounds slightly or markedly stilted, bookish, if repeated by the tongue. This difference--though it may appear almost trifling--is apparent to everyone. Its recognition can be partly ill.u.s.trated by the fact that after President Lowell and Senator Lodge had debated on the topic, the League of Nations, in Boston and were shown the reports of their speeches, each made changes in certain expressions. The version for print and reading is a little more formal than the delivered sentences. The Senator said, "I want"

but preferred to write "I wish"; then he changed "has got to be" into "must," and "nothing to see" into "nothing visible."

One might say that all three vocabularies should correspond, but there is no real need of this. So long as people read they will meet thousands of words for which they have no need in speaking. Everybody must be able to understand the masterpieces of the past with their archaic (old-fas.h.i.+oned) words like _eftsoons_ or _halidom_, but no one need use such expressions now. So there is no discredit in the fact that one's speaking vocabulary is more restricted than his reading vocabulary.

New Ideas, New Words. It is true, however, that an educated person should never rest content with the size of his usable speaking vocabulary. The addition of every new word is likely to indicate the grasp of a new idea. Likewise, every new idea is almost certain to require its individual terms for expression. An enlarging vocabulary is the outward and visible sign of an inward and intellectual growth.

No man's vocabulary can equal the size of a dictionary, the latest of which in English is estimated to contain some 450,000 words. Life may be maintained upon a surprisingly meager group of words, as travelers in foreign lands can testify. Shakespeare's vocabulary is said to have included as many as 15,000 words. Figures for that of the average person vary considerably.

Increasing the Vocabulary. The method of increasing a vocabulary is a quite simple process. Its procedure is a fascinating exercise. It covers four steps. When a new word is encountered it should be noticed with keen attention. If heard, its p.r.o.nunciation will be fixed upon the ear. If seen, its spelling should be mastered at once. The next step is to consult a dictionary for either spelling or p.r.o.nunciation.

Then all its meanings should be examined. Still the word is not yours until you have used it exactly. This you should do at the first opportunity. If the opportunity seems long in coming make it for yourself by discussing with some one the topic with which it was used or frankly discuss the word itself. How many unfamiliar words have you heard or seen recently? How many do you easily use now in your own remarks? You might find it a good plan to take a linguistic inventory every night. A little practice in this will produce amazingly interesting and profitable results in both use and understanding. A keenness for words will be rapidly developed. Word-lists of all kinds will take on entirely new meanings. A spontaneous receptivity will develop into permanent retention of words and phrases.

EXERCISES

1. Tell of some new word you have added to your vocabulary recently.

Explain when you met it, how it happened to impress you, what you learned of it.

2. In studying a foreign language how did you fix in your mind the words which permanently stuck there?

3. Look over a page in a dictionary. Report to the cla.s.s on some interesting material you find.

4. Make a list of ten slang or technical expressions. Explain them in exact, clear language.

5. Find and bring to cla.s.s a short printed pa.s.sage, which because of the words, you cannot understand. Unusual books, women's fas.h.i.+on magazines, technical journals, books of rules for games, financial reports, contain good examples.

6. How much do you know about any of the following words?

cha.s.sis fuselage orthodox sable comptometer germicide plebescite self-determination covenant layman purloin soviet ethiopian morale querulous vers libre farce nectar renegade zoom

7. Comment on the words in the following extracts:

"Of enchanting crimson brocade is the slipover blouse which follows the lines of the French cuira.s.se. Charmingly simple, this blouse, quite devoid of tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, achieves smartness by concealing the waistline with five graceful folds."

"The s.h.i.+ft bid consists in bidding a suit, of which you have little or nothing, with the ultimate object of transferring later to another declaration, which is perfectly sound. The idea is to keep your adversaries from leading this suit up to your hand, which they will likely avoid doing, thinking that you are strong in it."

"While sentiment is radically bearish on corn there is so little pressure on the market other than from shorts that a majority of traders are inclined to go slow in pressing the selling side on breaks until the situation becomes more clearly defined. The weekly forecast for cool weather is regarded as favorable for husking and sh.e.l.ling, and while there was evening up on the part of the pit operators for the double holiday, some of the larger local professionals went home short expecting a lower opening Tuesday."

8. Make a list of ten new words you have learned recently.

Suffixes and Prefixes. Definite steps for continuous additions can be mapped out and covered. Careful attention to prefixes and suffixes will enlarge the vocabulary.

PREFIXES

1. a = on, in, at, to; _abed, aboard, afield, afire_

2. ab (a, abs) = from, away; _absent, abstract, abdicate_

3. ad, etc. = to, in addition to; _adapt, admit, adduce_

4. ante = before, _anteroom, antebellum_

5. anti = against, opposite; _anticlimax, antipodes, antipathy_

6. bi= two; _bicycle, biennial, biped, biplane_

7. circ.u.m = around, about; _circ.u.mnavigate, circ.u.mscribe, circ.u.mvent_

8. con (col, com, co, cor, etc.) = with, together; _consent, collect, coordinate, composite, conspiracy_

9. contra (counter) = against; _contradict, counteract, countermand_

10. de = down, from, away; _depose, desist, decapitate, denatured_

11. demi, hemi, semi = half; _demi-ta.s.se, hemisphere, semiannual, semitransparent_