from New York Times
A Solemn Protest
To the Editor of The New York Times:
I wish to protest against the word suggested by Ellis Parker Butler as descriptive of a telephone message. The word "yawp" is not pleasant to the ear. Mr. Butler probably thought of it in hunting for a short word. It has, I admit, the merit of brevity, but its ugly sound seems to me to quite outweigh that single benefit. The term "yawp-box," which he suggests to replace the word telephone, or even the condensation "yoppox," has an ugly ring to it, while the phrase "jang my yawp," which he terms in his letter "neat and pretty," seems anything but that to me. It has a rough sound. I think that if Mr. Parker will consider the question from the standpoint of sound rather than brevity he will come to see that the term "yawp" is somewhat inelegant.
www.ellisparkerbutler.info
Saturday, October 07 at 5:43:35am USA Central