HEAD OFFICE, MONTREAL, APRIL 1952
ON FINDING
ORDScan workwondersthatbenefitall mankind;theycancreateunto!dwickedness;
they
canbe ’ wildandwhirling
, clearandshining,
or flatanddull.Wordsareour obedient
servants
to
be usedas we will.
w
WORDS
butit is fromthecommonsoilthatlanguage
derives
itsstrength,
nourishment
and vigour.Withour need
forexpression
of new ideaslanguage
grows,and new
systemsof thoughtand newwaysof livingoriginate
new wordsand phrases.
As was so wellsaidby WaltWhitman,languageis
We,in thisMonthlyLetter,areinterested
princiconstruction
of the learned,
or of
pallyin theuseof wordsin business
andfor-everyday not "an abstract
makers,
butis something
arising
outof the
purposes,
buttheyhavefargreater
significance
than dictionary
that.
work,needs,ties,joys,affections,
tastes,of long
generations
of humanity,
andhas itsbasesbroadand
Such upliftingwordsas "I am the Lightof the
low,closeto theground."
World"have inspiredcountlessmillionswithunfaltering
faithandhope;thecalculated
andinflaming Sincewe,thepeople,
arethepossessors
andmakers
words of demagoguesand dictatorshave hurled of language
we mustlookuponourselves
as inheritors
nations
andpeopleintodarkness
anddisaster.
of itsglorious
past,custodians
of its presentand
guardians
of itsfuture.
Andwe mustuseit we!!.
Do we fullyrealizethe importance,
the strength
and the beautyof the worldof wordslyingopento
If we aretrulyconscious
of ouropportunity
in this
us?
matterof language,
we arebetterfittedto beautify
and strengthen
it. A writerof thelastcentury
said
The timewe livein is referred
to as the Atomic that languageis the amber in which a thousand
Age,butwewholiveinitcanrightly,
callittheVerbal preciousand subtlethoughtshavebeensafelyemAge.Fewof us can escapetheever-increasing
stream beddedand preserved,
and thatit has arrested
ten
of spokenand written
wordspouring
fromourradios, thousand
lightning
flashesof genius,which,unless
books,newspapers,
correspondence
and publicplat- thusfixedandarrested,
mighthavebeenas brightbut
forms.We are so immersedin wordsthat oftenwe
wouldhave passedand perishedas quicklyas the
feellikethe drowning
man goingdownfor thethird lightning.
time-- we feelas if we weresinkingin a whirlpool
of words.
Why do we talkor write?The purposesare many.
We
wishto describeobjectsand events,to express
Letus defytradition
andcomeup again,andtakea
moods,to persuade,
to please,
to exhort,
to explain,
cleat’,
calmlookat allthisverbiage.
to makesmalltalk,and oftento lessenloneliness.
Andoveralltheseliesthemainreasonforallot~r
Our Unique Heritage
talkingandwriting
-- to transmit
theideasfromour
It is language
thatsetsus offmostsharply
fromthe ownmindsto themindsof others.
higheranimals.Withoutlanguagewe shouldbe as
Thoughts are Words
dogs or monkeys,and becausewe possessit we are
human beings,capableof good and evil and outWe need words even to communicatewith ourstanding
intellectual
achievements.
Or,foritslack,
selves.
Simplethoughts
suchas deciding
whatto bare
we maybe dismally
stupid.Forbetterandfor worse,
fordinner,
whether
to buytheredor thegrayhat,or
words make us the men and women we are. Words
by
arethestonesoutof whichwe builtourcivilization.whetherto walkor takea tram,are formulated
yourselfto yourselfin somearrangement
of words.
who everinvented
a newword
Giftedwithlanguage
we,theordinary
people,make Everywriteror speaker
language,
for language
is nothing
if notdemocratic. had to explainits meaningby meansof otherwords
Scholars
andmenof learning
enrichandcultivate
it, whichpeoplealreadyknew and understood.
Keepingthe readerfirmlyin mind,and with his
Communication
is the vitalchainbetweenourselves
interests
at heart,how bestcan we appealto him?
and our neighbours,
our businessassociates,
the
peoplelivingin thenexttown,thenextprovince,
the
The heavenlytwinsof bettercommunication
could
next countryand on the otherside of the world.
well
be
named
Simplicity
and
Clarity.
The.y
have
been
Words,spokenand written,are the goldenlinksin
called
theartof arts,thegloryof expressxon,
andthe
thatchain.
sunshine
of thelightof letters.
Oftenbefore
in these
MonthlyLetters
we havepleaded
theircause.
The cardinalprincipleof goodcommunication
is
understanding.
Thereis no satisfaction
or accommustbe behindthe words
plishment
or,to be materialistic,
gain,in meaningless Clear,straightthinking
we use.If youunderstand
the proposition
well,then
and muffledwordsgivenout into unreceptive
and
your
natural
tendency
will
be
to
explain
it
in underuncomprehending
air.
standableterms.Thinkingand wordingcannotbe
Hereliesourmainresponsibility
as a speaker
or a
dealtwithseparately,
fortheyarecauseandeffect.
writer.If our communication
is opento morethan
A man mustanalyze,
group,marshalintoorderand
oneinterpretation,
or allowsthelistener
or reader
definehis thoughts
beforetheycan appealwithany
to say to himself,
"Whatdoeshe mean?"thenwe,at
forceto hisintelligence,
or be usedby himso as to
the transmitting
end,havefailed.°
appealto theintelligence
of others.
That a man will respondto some words while
remaining
indifferent
to othersis a well-known
fact Not Easy: but Worth While
thatinfluences
allhumanaffairs.
Thepowerof words
To reachourreaders,
to maintain
theirattention
is boundup withthe imagestheyevoke,and is not
and influence
themfavourably,
we woulddo wellto
dependent
on theirdictionary
meaning.
describe
and suggestconcrete,
not abstract
things.
writing,our wordsshould
It is impossible
fortwopersons
everto havelearned In the fieldof business
makeit easyforthereader
to picture
thepropothesamewordunderprecisely
thesamecircumstances,always
sition,
service
or article,
anditsadvantages
andbeneat the sametime,and withthe samebackground
of
experience.
Justas one personcan neverbe another fits.
person,no matterhow closelyhe is boundto him
To expressone’sthoughts
accurately
is not easy.
mentally,
physically
andspiritually,
so withwords.
To be precisemay sometimes
appearto be dangerous,
and we may be temptedto preferthe saferobscurity
Even such a simpleword as "home"conjuresup
Butabstract
wordsare moreopento
quitedifferent
pictures
to different
people,
although of theabstract.
thanconcrete
ones,and if we want
the basicmeaningis the same.Each persontakes misunderstanding
to
make
our
meaning
plain
we
will
avoidthem.
the word into his consciousmind ringedaround
with his own specialand personalassociations.
"Thoucanstnot adornsimplicity",
saidEpictetus
For thisreason,saysSmartChasein his book,The
about2,000yearsago,and it is stilla fundamental
Tyranny
o] Words,
a student
of GreekandLatinclassics truth.
can neverget more thana part of theirmeaning,
forhe canneverpersonally
livethroughexperiences Somepeoplethinkthatobscurity
of expression
is a
of theculture
thatfashioned
them.
signoflearning
andloftyintellect.
Gilbert
andSullivansatirized
thisattitude
intheir
light
opera,
Patience,
Our Opportunity
when they had ReginaldBunthornesing: "If this
deepyoungman expresses
himselfin termstoo deep
Hereinliesopportunity
for thebusiness
man,the
for me;Why,whata verysingularly
deepyoungman,
socialcorrespondent,
the publicspeaker,and the
personwho aspiresto be accounted
a goodconversa- thisdeepyoungman mustbe!"
tionalist.
Theirattention
needstobe devoted
to choosThe convictionthat long words,whichalso aid
ingwordswhichconveyaccurately
andvividlyto the
and
abetobscurity,
make for learningand enhance
mindsof otherswhatis in theirown minds.
ourprestige
is deeplyingrained
in ourculture,
says
in Scientific
Monthly.
Mostof us remember
To transmit
whatwe haveto sayeffectively
we need, an article
HansChristian
Andersen’s
charming
fairytaleof the
aboveall,to rememberour audience.Thereis the
important
partof theinterchange.
artificial
nightingale,
whoborethegrandtitle:
"Chief
ImperialSingerof the Bedchamber",
and the music
To reachour readerswe mustwritewith themin
masterwho wrotefiveand twentyvolumesaboutthe
mind,in wordsthey know and understand,
in lancounterfeit
bird..."
in allthemostdifficult
Chinese
guagethatmeanssomething
to them.If we areunable characters.
Everybody
saidtheyhad readand underto do so it wouldbe betterif we laidasideourpens. stoodit,forotherwise
theywouldhavebeenreckoned
stupid."
In thewriting
of business
letters,
forinstance,
itis
essential
thatwe studyour market,the peop.lewho
What are "Good" Words?
makeit up,theirlikesanddislikes,
theirdesires
and
A strugglefor lifeis constantly
goingon among
demands-- and thenwriteto themin the wordsthey
formsof a language.In
want,in phrases
theyunderstand.
As in so manyother the wordsand grammatical
actsof unselfishness,
thissublimation
of selfreaps the battlebetweenshortand longwordsthe former
seemto be winning,
andthisis a healthy
sign.
rewards.
Metaphors
andsimiles,
if theyaresimpleandshining,helppaintthepicture.
TheNewTestament
is full
of profoundbut simplemetaphors.Compare"feed
my sheep"with "teachmy doctrine."Does not the
formerconveya far more human,tenderand sympathetic
picture?
Andin thesimile,
fromthePsalms,
"Theyshallsoon be cut down like the grass,and
If thechoiceis betweentwowordsthatconveythe witheras thegreenherb"m do we notseethepicture
writer’s
meaning
equally
well,oneshortandfamiliar muchmorevividlythanif the writerhad said"They
and theotherlongandunusual,
of coursethe short shallperish"?
andfamiliar
shouldbe preferred.
Clich6s,thoseworn-out,bleacheddry phrases,
SirErnestgoeson to pointoutthatMr.Churchill, are to be avoided.
Mostof us usethemdailyin our
an outstanding
masterof words,doesnothesitate
to
conversation,
and theydo notseemparticularly
dead
usesucha wordas "liquidate"
rather
thanthesimpler or evennoticeable.
In thewrittenwordtheyshowup
"destroy",
if he thinksthatthe less commonword in alltheirexhaustion.
willbe moreeffective
in transferring
whatis in his
mindintohisreaders’
minds.
EricPartridge’s
Dictionary
o].Clich~s
contains
some
thousands
of entries.
Buthe pointsoutin hispreface
AndC. E. Montague,
in A Writer’s
Noteson hisTrade
whatis a clich6
is partly
a matter
of opinion,
and
(available
inthePelican
series)
saysthis:"...Clear that
alsoa matterof occasion.
out of yourmindthe notionthata language
is, or
oughtto be,a finished
andimmutable
systemin which
Sometimesa phrasesuch as "breakthe ice",or
certain
wordsareindefeasibly
highcastes
andcertain "cryoverspiltmilk"doesexpresswhatyouwishto
otherwordsaredoomedforeverto be untouchables."sayinthemostfitting
way.Butitis wellto think
twice
before
we
trot
out
the
old
familiar
phrase.
A
new
one
Good words are words the readerunderstands,
thefruitof a little
morethought
-- mightbebetter.
whethertheybe shortand Saxon,or longand Latin.
may havebecomeso blunted
Usually
theyaretheformer,
butwe neednotfeelour- Oftenthe old expression
by constant
usethatit doesn’t
cutintothe
selvespushedintousingnothingelse.Thesensible andblurred
mind.
thingis to usethewordthatfitsthecase.As Mark
Twainwiselysaid:"Thedifference
betweentheright
Slangis another"acceptable"
in conversation
that
word and the almostrightwordis the difference haslittleplacein writing.
Theplaceforslangis in
betweenlightningand the lightningbug."It may
face-to-face
conversation,
whereit may addwit and
mean,in modernterms,thedifference
between
a sale humour,
increased
vivacity
andintimacy
to ourspeech.
and no sale,betweena promotion
and no promotion. Butitisbetter
touseitsparingly,
ifatall,inwritten
The rightwordsconveythe rightmeaning.Gram- communications.
mar and syntaxare not nearlyso important
as the
Sometimesa slang word becomesa respectable
choiceof words.The selectionof one wordrather citizen
in theworldof goodEnglish.
If suchnovelties
than anothermay alterthe whole weightand inareaccepted
intothelanguage
thentheyhavepassed
fluenceof a poem,or a passagein prose,or givea
thetestwhichwe mentioned
earlier
in thisarticle;
sinistermeaningto a passageyou intendto be a
thetestthatis setby thepeople.
Usagecanconsecrate
winnerof friends.
whatmay haveoriginally
beensprightly
inventions
Arrangement
is, of course,important,
but a happy and make them acceptable.In The King’sEnglish
sequence
of choosing
therightwordsis thattheyhave H. W. Fowlertellsus that,duringthe probation
theyarewordsunfitforliterary
use.
a gracefulway of arrangingthemselves.
~
Sometimes period,
it almostseemsas if wordshavea lifeof theirown; Words are BeautiJul
thattheyobject
to careless
handling,
andthatunruly
wordsactually
struggle
in thesentence.
Letus lookfora minute,
as a collector
mightlook
lovingly
at
his
treasures,
at
the
beauty
of words.
Words Paint Pictures
Hawthornespokeof "the unaccountable
spellthat
and thoughwe maynot allhave
Every word and phrasewe use in our writing, lurksin a syllable",
the
whether
itbe in ourbusiness
letters,
reports,
articles musicin our souls,we can learnto appreciate
of
orspeeches,
isas vital
asthebrush
stroke
ofanartist. kind of languagethatcomesfrom a combination
feeling,
skill
andartistic
usage.
To makethe picturerealand appealingwe do not
use strangeor mysterious
words,technicalterms,
It hasbeensaidthatwords,likeprecious
jewels,
exaggerations
or inaccuracies.
We use wordsthat
and thechoiceof neighareconcrete,
interpretive
andvivid.Wordspaintpic- dependupontheirgrouping
amusingor
tures,
butthereis little
roomfor"still
lifes"
in our bours.Theymaybe strangeor beautiful,
tragicin isolation,
buttheywillbe doublyso when
gallery.
an authorof judgmenthas put them in the right
By makingpatternswith wordsand phrasesthat
company.
pleasethe ear, we affectthe emotions,move our
Makethislittle
test.Thinkof anyfamiliar
verseof
readers,
and thusdrivehomeour point.Thenwe are
poetryor passage
of prose~ evena business
letter
wellon theway to becoming
artistsin words.
But althoughwisemen throughout
the ages,from
Aristotle
to WinstonChurchill,
haveemphasized
the
use of shortand simplewords,we shouldnot shun
alllongwordscompletely,
saysSirErnestGowersin
his valuable(andinexpensive)
littlebook,ABC oJ
PlainWords.
thatyoufindpleasing,
andthenanalyzeyourenioymentofit.Youwillfindthatonlya partof theenjoyment comes from contemplationof the situation
to whichit drawsyourattention.
Muchis aroused
by the beautyof the words,considered
solelyas a
patternof soundand rhythm.
But we must not becomeintoxicatedwith words
as words,easythough
it canbe,forourwriting
would
be robbedthereby
of theclarity
we arestriving
for.
The more words we know the more selectivewe
canbe.It is a paradox,
butperfectly
true,tosaythat
without
a largevocabulary
we willoftenusesixwords
instead
of one.
Justas we can’tmakenewfriendsif we nevermeet
anybody,so withwords.To buildour vocabulary
we
must meet new words, and to meet new words we
mustread,themorethebetter.
The businessman who readsShakespeare
or a comparable
authorcanwritebetterbusiness
letters
than
Thetwoaimsof a greatartistin wordsmustalways the man whosesoledietis cheapfiction-- and the
be lucidity
firstandthenmelody.
stenographer
who readsShakespeare
willdo better
letters
and be moreof a participant
in thebusiness
The English Language
than the stenographer
whoseonlyliteraryfoodis
chit-chat.
What a wonderfulinstrument
our languageis! It
is rich,because
it is omnivorous;
it takeswordsfrom Books as Teachers
othertonguesand assimilates
them,givingthem a
Dr. W. E. McNeillin a convocationaddressat
formandcharacter
so familiar
thattheyseemto be of
Queen’s
University
a few yearsago saidthatEnglish
native
stock.
Literature
is the bestsinglesubjectto providea
It is expressive.
Takethe word"greed",
for ex- common elementin the bewilderingdiversityof
He wenton to saythatliterature
ample.
Doesn’t
it giveoffa feeling
of fatness?
Hasn’t moderneducation.
records
the
spiritual
history
of mankind,
itsjoysand
the word "sublime"a shimmerand a sheen? and
sorrows,
hopesand fears,aspirations
and defeats,
doesn’tthe word "gloom"sound dark and forethe earthyworst,the heavenlybest.It showslife
boding?
whole.
Our languageis vital.It evaluates,
in a broadBooksenableus to "seewiththekeenest
eyes,hear
mindedway,newentrants
to itshugevocabulary,
and withthefinestears,andlisten
to thesweetest
voices
acceptsor rejectsthemwithcompletefairness.
It
of all time."And,to continue
thisthought
of James
is notrigorously
regimented,
buttrulyaliveandever- Russell
Lowell,
thereis a choice
in booksas infriends,
growing.
andthemindsinksor risestothelevelof itshabitual
society.
Andit is a poeticlanguage.
As LordDavidCecilof
Oxfordsays,"English
is ideally
suited
fortheexpresTo spendall ourreadingtimeon flimsy,fleeting
stuffin a worldthatholdsShelley
and Shakespeare,
sionof emotion.
Thereis no betterlanguage
in the
worldfortouching
theheartandsetting
theimagina- Shawand Mauriacwouldbe likechoosinga pieceof
tionaflame."
glassandrejecting
a precious
jewel.
Theadvertising
writerandthedirect-by-mail
salesmanhaveno excusefor not beingableto maketheir
pointsin writtenwords;thepublicspeakercanfind
in our languageall he needsin the way of words,
carefully
selected
and skilfully
assembled,
to move
hisaudience.
Educators
are unitedin placingspecialemphasis
on thestudyof English.
GoodEnglish
usageis essential no matterwhat your profession.To mention
WinstonChurchill
again,thistimeon theimportance
of English:"I wouldmakeboysall learnEnglish;
andthenI wouldletthecleveroneslearnLatinas an
honourand Greekas a treat.But the onlythingI
wouldwhipthemforis not knowingEnglish.
I would
whipthemhardforthat."
Enriching Your Language
... and Practise
RobertLouisStevenson
was awarethatfacilityof
expressionis gainedby practise,when he said:
"Though
I writeso little,
I passallmyhoursoffieldwork in continualconverseand imaginarycorrespondence.I scarcepull up a weed,but I inventa
sentence
on thematter."
We canthinkof the worldof wordsas a greatand
glorious
garden.Likeflowers,
wordshavescentand
textureand beauty.Liketrees,theyhavestrength,
and grandeurand vitality.We are the gardeners,
responsible
for theircultivation
and theirfairest
blooming,
theirarrangement
and theirdisposition.
Letus toilhappily
in thisgarden,
sowingtheseeds
of thought
withcare,andnurturing
thetenderblossomsthatgrowfromthem:andlet us be ruthless
in
uprooting
the weedsthatthreaten
to chokeand kill
our language.
How can we add to our knowledge and appreciationof our language?One importantway is to
Ourswillbe the harvest.
Wordsgiveus beautyand
enrichandenlargeourvocabulary.
By acquiring
all
and self-expression;
expressions
of love
thestockof wordswe can,we havea basisforweigh- sustenance
ing one wordagainstanother,for rejecting
a word and feelingsof duty.They enableus to conveyto
by whichwe wouldinfluence
because
we knowa betterone.We havea richandfull othersthe philosophy
them.
treasuryuponwhichto draw.
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