Doug, You are right. Now that I read my lines again, I am not quite sure what I was trying to say. I think I meant to say simply that when we discuss Twain's use of dialect, we need to remember, for what it may be worth, that it is a fictional dialect and not a literal presentation of speech. Clarifyingly yours, Jason G. Horn Gordon College Barnesville, GA========================================================================= Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 10:21:08 -0600 Reply-To: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> Sender: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> From: Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Bitchslap In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]> Mime-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit This week I have been teaching Life on the Mississippi. Mark Twain certainly delights in the vernacular in that book. He admires one steamboatman, for example, for the sublimity of his profane speech. I guess this must seem obvious, but isn't it ironic that we are quibbling over a slang word (granted, one that is indeed possibly offensive to some) on a list devoted to one of America's pioneers in the use and admiration of such language?? Hmmm? Harold K. Bush Saint Louis University St. Louis, MO