12 1931 OF THE Modern Language Association OF AMERICA EDITED BY JAMES W. BRIGHT SECRETARY OF THE ASSOCIATION VOL. XV, NO. 4. NEW SERIES, VOL. VIII, NO. 4. BALTIMORE CONTENTS. XV.-The Friar's Lantern and Friar Rush. By G. L. KITTREDGE, 415-441 in the 1545 edition of the Bible. By WARREN WASH- 442-491 The annual volume of the Publications of the Modern Language Association of America is issued in quarterly instalments. It contains chiefly articles which have been presented at the meetings of the Association and of the Central Division of the Association, and accepted for publication by the Editorial Committee. Other appropriate articles may also be accepted by the Committee. The closing number of each volume includes, in Appendices, the Proceedings of the last Annual Meeting of the Association, and of the Central Division of the Association. The complete sets of the first seven volumes of these Publications are all sold. Several copies of Volumes I and III remain; they will be sold at reduced prices. The subscription for the current volume is $3.00. The price of single numbers is $1.00 each. All communications should be addressed to JAMES W. BRight, Secretary of the Association, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. The next Annual Meeting of the Association will be incorporated in a Congress of the Archæological and Philological Societies that will be held at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., December 27, 28, 29, 1900. The first regular session of the Meeting of the Association will be convened Thursday, December 27, at 9.30 o'clock. The Rail Road Companies have granted reduced fares, on the Certificate Plan. Entered at the Baltimore Post-Office as Second-Class Matter. Readers for the American Dialect Society. Some years ago a committee was appointed by the American Dialect Society to supervise the reading of American books, for the purpose of collecting dialect words and expressions. The success of the work so far has been considerable, and some thousands of cards have already been sent to the Society. More readers are needed, however, since the field is large and important. The following circular shows the kind of material desired, and gives directions and suggestions for readers. Note words and uses of words belonging to the following classes and subclasses: 1. Words already recorded in dictionaries but clearly dialectal, as 2. 3. 4. (a) those marked U. S., local U. S., New England, Southern, etc. (b) those marked obsolete, obsolescent, rare, colloquial, etc. Words not found in dictionaries, including 6 (a) simple words, as wuzzy 'confused', scads 'money.' (e) new formations on the basis of old words, as bookery (d) new modifications of old words, as blasks for 'blasts,' Words abbreviated in forms not yet recorded, as nuf for 5. Words differing from standard, or correct, inflectional forms, as in 'I done it'; 'him and I'; 'If I was'; 'The public are invited.' 6. Words in new idioms, as 'pick a crow' for 'have a controversy; beat done in 'he beat me done.' 7. Words in recorded, but clearly dialectal, meanings, as (a) those marked U. S., local U. S., etc.; see la above. (b) those marked obsolete, obsolescent, etc., see 1b above. Words in new meanings, as gust storm'; whang 'nasal twang.' 8. Readers should make themselves familiar in a general way with this classification, which, it is believed, is distinctive and easily understood by the aid of the examples. In reading, however, it is scarcely necessary to consider the divisions at all, since all words that strike one as peculiar should be jotted down without regard to classification. In cases of doubt record the word with a (?) after it. The following explanations in regard to some of the above divisions may be of service. New compounds are not always marked by a sign of union as in (2b). If, however, the words form the sign of one idea, they may be regarded as a true compound, whether united or not. The Mrs. Partington blunders in words, as honey-seed for homicide, which would come under (2d), do not always represent actual speech, but should be recorded in all cases. Many words belong under (3) and (5) but, as they are to be recorded but once for each book, will not greatly delay the reading. Many of them may be marked as common to all the works of one author. Slightly diverging meanings (8) will easily escape notice, as they may be common to all parts of our country, and yet not found in dictionaries or in the usage of Great Britain. Readers well acquainted with British usage will be especially helpful in noting such American variations. At first, note every word or usage which seems possibly dialectal. The simplest way is to have a slip of paper always at hand on which to jot down word and page without delaying the reading. When a list has been collected, compare it, word by word, with the dictionaries at your command, as the Century, International, Standard, and if possible with the dictionaries of so-called Americanisms by Bartlett, Farmer, and DeVere. You will thus save the labor of recording in final form those words which are not dialectal in the sense of the divisions above. Do not be discouraged at not finding a great number of dialectal words or meanings at first. You will soon notice such words -3 and usages more readily and become better able to separate the dialectal, from the commonly accepted, material. In sending words to the committee, please state with what dictionaries you have compared the list. When ready to make the final record of results, use paper or cards, cut to the size of that used in the card catalogue of a library.' Record the following facts in the order here given: word, meaning, date of book (copyright date if given), author, title, volume, chapter, page, quotation showing use of word. Sample, showing the best form in which to record these facts upon the card, will be sent upon request. Record a word but once for each book unless it occurs in some other important form, when each form should be recorded. At the bottom and left hand of the card, the number and subdivision of the class to which the word or meaning belongs may be indicated in brackets, as (1b) for a word marked obsolete or obsolescent. Much time may be saved by abbreviating title of book and author's name, as well as by using the simplest abbreviations for volume, chapter, and page. Please see that all abbreviations are used consistently, and are carefully explained on separate card when necessary. For pronunciation use the Society's system of phonetic spelling. Write legibly. Be especially careful of letters easily mistaken, as n-u, r-v, n-v, a-o, etc. In cases where there may be doubt, make cach letter of the word separately as in printing. In selecting a book to be read choose one with which you are not familiar, since you will be more likely to notice dialectal usage in an unfamiliar work than in one with which you are well acquainted. If possible, choose also a book representing another dialect than that of the district in which you are living. A resident of New England would perhaps be more likely to see peculiar words or uses of words in the novels of Craddock than in those of Miss Wilkins. If you wish the committee to select books for you to 1 Cards of this size will be furnished by the Society, but as they may be obtained at any printing office for about fifty cents a thousand, readers will confer a great favor by providing their own supplies. Please see that the cards are cut with care so that they shall be neither larger nor smaller than that of the library card, that is seven and onehalf by twelve and one-half centimetres, or three by five inches. |