How English Became English by Horobin Simon;

Author:Horobin, Simon; [Horobin, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
Published: 2015-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

box 6 Extract from Don’t: A Manual of Mistakes and Improprieties More or Less Prevalent in Conduct and Speech (1884)

DON’T speak ungrammatically. Study books of grammar, and the writings of the best authors.

DON’T pronounce incorrectly. Listen to the conversation of cultivated people, and, if in doubt, consult the dictionaries.

DON’T call your servants girls. Call the cook cook, and the nurse nurse, and the housemaids maids.

DON’T use slang. There is some slang that, according to Thackeray,is gentleman slang, and other slang that is vulgar. If one does not know the difference, let him avoid slang altogether, and then he will be safe.

DON’T fall into the habit of repeating worn-out proverbs and overused quotations. It becomes not a little irritating to have to listen to one who ceaselessly applies or misapplies a threadbare stock of ‘wise saws’ and stupid sayings.

DON’T notice in others a slip in grammar or a mispronunciation in a way to cause a blush or to offend. If you refer to anything of the kind, do it courteously, and not in the hearing of other persons.

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