Those of you who have followed Ezra’s Essays know of my interest in language. For example, on several occasions I have pointed out that my parents spoke “country speak.” When I go to the physician’s office, he speaks “doctor speak.” That will give you an idea of what is in store in the following essay.
My military service took place between 1942 and 1945. If my mathematics are generally correct, that would make it on the order of nearly 70 years ago. But I suspect that the speech patterns of the American military have changed very little since my departure.
When I try to analyze the speech patterns of the American military, it would seem to me that there is a prevalence of the use of the letter “h” in the commands that are given. For example, there is the perfectly ordinary word of “attention.” But in my military experience of somewhat more than three years, I have never heard that word pronounced as anything but “attench-hut!” Clearly pronunciation of this word as “attench-hut” did not scare the Germans or the Japanese.
It was used both here in the States and abroad. On two occasions I remember that it was determined by the military brass that the enlisted men’s sleeping quarters ought to be inspected. On those occasions the inspecting officer, usually a second lieutenant, would appear at the door of the tent or, if there was one, of the barracks, and call attention to himself by saying, “attench-hut!” It might be observed that those “inspections” did not take place very often because the inspecting officer was made aware of the hostility of the men who happened to be in the tent or barracks. In effect, he was told, “Take your attench-hut and please get out of here.”
And now we move on to the cadence counters, who are usually reserved for basic training. It may well be that cadence counters are used for big parades but unfortunately, or fortunately, I had no part in big parades. The cadence counters will do anything to avoid saying, “Left, right” or “One, two, three, four.” That would seem to be the ordinary speech pattern for cadence counters. But they had their time-tested method and to this day it continues to baffle me.
When the troops are lined up, the first step always takes off with the left foot. This is followed by taking a step with the right foot. In military speak, this is known as “forward harch.” When they have moved forward in the harching, there may come a time when the drill instructor wants them to turn to the left. He might say, “To the left flank – harch.” In this construction, the letter “h” replaces the letter “m.” In other words, military speak requires the use of mispronunciations which are not hard to figure out. But why they are used continues to be a mystery to me, even after this long passage of time.
Ordinarily a cadence counter would say “Left, right, left, right” but in fact the cadence counter will always say, “Hut, hoop, hip, haw”. Now I know that the cadence counter could have said, “One, two, three, four” or even “Left, right, left, right.” The fact is that we won the war (the Second World War) using this method. When something works as well as “Hut, hoop, hip, haw” works, there is absolutely no reason to change it.
I would not want any of my readers to conclude that I am a big fan of the American military. Quite the opposite is true. Like millions of other men, we did our time, won the war, and then got out and told the military establishment what they could do with their method of speaking. But now after nearly 70 years as a student of speech, I wonder what in the hell the world thinks “Hut, hoop, hip, haw” is all about. It could well be that this was the secret to our defeating the German and Japanese armies. But I doubt it.
Perhaps the main thing that I learned in my experience in the Army came from a Corporal who was trying to show us how to get through basic training. We had mastered the “forward march” business as well as the “left flank” business. Then we tackled the business of oblique marching. The cadence counter was a regular Army Corporal who was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He became confused as he tried to tell us about the oblique marching, which amounted to a 45 degree angle. I said, “I think I can help here.” At that point, the Corporal cut me off and in so doing instilled the words that inspire me to this very day. He said, “Soldier, you don’t get paid for thinking. You get paid to do what you are told to do.”
And so we marched to the sounds of “Hut, hoop, hip, haw.” That is what I had been told to do. I am still alive at the age of 89 years and six months so something must be working. And at this point I have told you all that I can think of about military speak. I do not intend to re-enlist so that I may bring you up to date on the latest version of military speak. But if any of my readers wish to re-enlist for the purpose of broadening our knowledge of military speak, I wish them well.
E. E. CARR
February 3, 2012
Essay 631
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I can think of few things that would irritate my grandfather quite as effectively as being told to stop thinking so much. I suspect that it is due to this and this alone that Pop opts not to rejoin the military to this day. I am confident that out of all the blind 90-year old men in the USA, he would be the best pilot. Clearly, the air force is missing out in 2012.