HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE ***
Produced by Tom Allen, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE CORRECTLY
By JOSEPH DEVLIN, M.A.
Edited by THEODORE WATERS
THE CHRISTIAN HERALD BIBLE HOUSE NEW YORK
Copyright, 1910, by THE CHRISTIAN HERALD NEW YORK
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I REQUIREMENTS OF SPEECH Vocabulary. Parts of speech. Requisites.
CHAPTER II ESSENTIALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR Divisions of grammar. Definitions. Etymology.
CHAPTER III THE SENTENCE Different kinds. Arrangement of words. Paragraph.
CHAPTER IV FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Figures of speech. Definitions and examples. Use of figures.
CHAPTER V PUNCTUATION Principal points. Illustrations. Capital letters.
CHAPTER VI LETTER WRITING Principles of letter writing. Forms. Notes.
CHAPTER VII ERRORS Mistakes. Slips of authors. Examples and corrections. Errors of redundancy.
CHAPTER VIII PITFALLS TO AVOID Common stumbling blocks. Peculiar constructions. Misused forms.
CHAPTER IX STYLE Diction. Purity. Propriety. Precision.
CHAPTER X SUGGESTIONS How to write. What to write. Correct speaking and speakers.
CHAPTER XI SLANG Origin. American slang. Foreign slang.
CHAPTER XII WRITING FOR NEWSPAPERS Qualification. Appropriate subjects. Directions.
CHAPTER XIII CHOICE OF WORDS Small words. Their importance. The Anglo-Saxon element.
CHAPTER XIV ENGLISH LANGUAGE Beginning. Different Sources. The present.
CHAPTER XV MASTERS AND MASTERPIECES OF LITERATURE Great authors. Classification. The world's best books.
INTRODUCTION
In the preparation of this little work the writer has kept one end in view, viz.: To make it serviceable for those for whom it is intended, that is, for those who have neither the time nor the opportunity, the learning nor the inclination, to peruse elaborate and abstruse treatises on Rhetoric, Grammar, and Composition. To them such works are as gold enclosed in chests of steel and locked beyond power of opening. This book has no pretension about it whatever,--it is neither a Manual of Rhetoric, expatiating on the dogmas of style, nor a Grammar full of arbitrary rules and exceptions. It is merely an effort to help ordinary, everyday people to express themselves in ordinary, everyday language, in a proper manner. Some broad rules are laid down, the observance of which will enable the reader to keep within the pale of propriety in oral and written language. Many idiomatic words and expressions, peculiar to the language, have been given, besides which a number of the common mistakes and pitfalls have been placed before the reader so that he may know and avoid them.
The writer has to acknowledge his indebtedness to no one in _particular_, but to all in _general_ who have ever written on the subject.
The little book goes forth--a finger-post on the road of language pointing in the right direction. It is hoped that they who go according to its index will arrive at the goal of correct speaking and writing.
CHAPTER I
REQUIREMENTS OF SPEECH
Vocabulary--Parts of Speech--Requisites
