As it has turned out with my having been born in the United States, my native tongue is the English language. A good many years back, this language came from Saxon roots. When it went to England, it became the Anglo-Saxon language. Now of course it is simply the English language.
My comment here today has to do with two ancient usages of that language as well as a new addition to it. It strikes me that the English language is now the lingua franca of the world and keeps on growing. A great and good friend, Sven Lernevall of Stockholm, says that he regards the English language as a rich one. If Sven says that our language is a rich one, I am inclined to agree with Mr. Lernevall.
At times like this, when the United States is in the midst of a mid-term political campaign, the language becomes even richer. A good part of the time politicians invent new phrases which over time often become added to the language. In the instant case, there is a woman in Nevada named Sharron Angle who is running against the majority leader of the United States Senate, Harry Reid. I guess we will have to say Ms. Angle is given to making wild insinuations against our political system. She has proposed doing away with Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs.
Harry Reid, the leader of the Senate, wanted to run against Sharron Angle, on the grounds that she would be the easiest to defeat because of the looseness of her intellect and language. On the other hand, Harry Reid is so unpopular in the state of Nevada that at this late date he is slightly behind her in the polls. If Ms. Angle is elected to the United States Senate, it will be a comedown of great proportions. But on the other hand it will give satirists burgeoning material for their stories. (Final tallies gave Reid a very slight edge.)
In the last few days, Sharron Angle has demanded of Harry Reid that he should “man up.” I am at somewhat of a loss to know what “man up” means, but the innuendo is that it has sexual connotations. Angle contends that Harry Reid, her opponent, is not man enough to be the leader of the Democratic Party in the United States Senate. It also suggests that Harry Reid is not man enough to satisfy a woman. I will not be able to comment on Harry Reid’s sexual performances. The election is less than two weeks off. Maybe after that time, “man up” may become an addition to the language or on the other hand it may just be forgotten. In the meantime Sharron Angle is being copied by a good many of the right-wing commentators. They would use their political prestige to accuse their opponents of not being “man up” to perform their duties. I hope that Professor Lernevall will make note of this fact to see if it has added to the richness of the English language.
Now we move to a much more pleasant subject. Since the 1960s, there is a well-known trio of folk singers called Peter, Paul and Mary. They are identified as Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers. All three of them sing, and Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey play guitars. For the better part of 50 years, Peter, Paul and Mary have given me great pleasure.
I have a device that delivers a condensed audio version of the New York Times on five days of the week. Miss Chicka is the governor of that device and every day she adds a song at the end. These songs have usually stuck in my head as I go around thinking about them for days at a time. As long as it is a Peter, Paul and Mary song, I find that experience quite welcome. The current resident in my memory is a song called “I Can Hear the Whistle Blow a Hundred Miles.” Mary Travers performs the lead role on this piece assisted by Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey giving soft vocal harmony throughout much of the song.
Mary Travers died recently after a long bout with cancer. Her loss was devastating and I will miss her greatly. In the song of “I Can Hear the Whistle Blow” her voice is pure and unadulterated. There are no coloratura offerings in this piece; it is just plain old Mary Travers singing that song the way it should have been sung.
As the song draws to a close, there are these lines.
Without a shirt on my back,
Without a penny to my name,
Lord, I can’t go home this-a-way, this-a-way.
That record has been in our collection for perhaps 25 years. One of the thoughts that haunts me is that Mary Travers is singing “this-a-way.” It is highly reminiscent of my parents who spoke that sort of language. They would add the “a” in “this-a-way” to a good many words. They would say of politicians, “They can’t go on acting this-a-way” for example. Or they would say to a son, “You can’t go staying out late at night this-a-way.”
That sort of speech has largely disappeared from the English language in recent years in this country. But I think there is a lyrical and musical content to it and so I repeat, “Lord, I can’t go home this-a-way.”
Now we turn to another construction that seems to come from Appalachia. People in that part of the country pronounce the word “can’t” as “cain’t.” I don’t know why this is done but it seems to be a wedding of “can’t” and “ain’t.” Bill Clinton, the former President, is now on the stump trying to elect more Democrats in this mid-term election.
Clinton is a native of the great state of Arkansas. Very often in informal sessions, Clinton reverts to the Appalachian influence on the English language. In a recent speech, Clinton said that having completed two terms as President, he “cain’t run anymore.” My parents and their rural friends almost always pronounced “can’t” as “cain’t.” I used to think that the use of “cain’t” reflected poorly on the speaker’s education. But as time has gone on, I find more people using that expression, particularly Southerners such as Haley Barbour, the Governor of Mississippi. I am left to say, “What the hell…” It’s as good as “can’t.” If I were to marry the Mary Travers lines from “whistle blowing,” I would say, “Lord, I cain’t go home this-a-way.” That would seem to me to be an elegant phraseology.
My romance with the language of the Anglo Saxons has gone on for more than 80 years. It is an interesting romance in that I find that as time goes on, I still find it absorbing. That thought would apply to the use of both “this-a-way” and “cain’t.”
Now we have the new starter of “man up.” If “man up” ever hangs around long enough to be a rival to “this-a-way” and “cain’t,” I will salute it at that time. But in the meantime, mark me down as much preferring “cain’t” and “this-a-way” as distinguished from such small fry words as “man up”. That adds nothing to the richness of the English language.
E. E. CARR
October 22, 2010
Essay 506
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Kevin’s commentary:
Alas, Ms. Angle did not make it. So it goes.
In other news, I think “man up” is okay, though generally it is used to introduce a sexist statement. Nobody ever says that a female should “woman up” and go do something, because such phrasing would inevitably be followed by a stereotype and be frowned upon.