OUR MOTHER TONGUE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23269, 11 February 1939, Page 4 (Supplement)

OUR MOTHER TONGUE

Random Notes and Little Problems

By PROFESSOR ARNOLD WALL

WHEN a Thames bargee was hurt in an accident and feared that his leg was broken, being reluctant to spend money on a doctor, he called in as an expert his friend whose cousin had once been in hospital with typhoid fever. 1 am reminded of this incident by a request from a correspondent to supply the solution to the old, old problem, "that hum's father is my father's sou." Now what has that to do with "Our Mother Tongue" J The speaker is, of course, looking at the portrait I of his own son, but I say so only to | oblige and hope that no more such conundrums will be offered as material for these notes. Echoes of the War A correspondent who served in t lie Great War submits two very familiar terms-for comment, offering in each case an explanation of sorts. "Digger," ho says, derives from the Spanish word "diga," which is used much as the American "Say," or our "1 say," to preface a sentence. This was used by a particular sergeant-major named Leake, and from his habit it became general. No, this will not do at all. The fact is. that "digger" was used in both and New Zealand from about 1855 for "a man," originating on the •told diggings. According to Par.tridge it was probably as a revival of this that it became common in lOl") on Gallipoli, and in the post-war period became the usual term for a returned soldier. Then wo have "Gerry" or "Jerry," for a German. My informant says that the German soldier was at first "Fritz," then "Kit/,," then "Fitzgerald," and reaches the terminus as "Gerry." Here again 1 appeal to Partridge, who says that "Gerry" is simply formed from the word "German." which seems to mo most probable. It is, however, notoriously difficult to unearth the genesis of slang terms in general, and of war slang in particular. Men were otherwise occupied than in philological observation during the war, and when asked about a particular usage have to roly on memory, and the memories of different men deliver very different accounts in too many cases. My friend admits that his "explanations" sound vc*y far-fetched, and so X.think, too,

I am asked about the correct pronunciation of the name Antonv, also spelt -Anthony, the inquirer having heard it pronounced by "well-educated speakers" with tho sound of th as in "thin." It is a great pity that the name was ever spelt with th, for it is in Latin

"Antonius." and the proper pronunciation is with t. not th. The spelling with th misleads many speakers. In Latin the combination th was used to transliterate the Greek letter "theta," which was like our th in words of Krglish origin. During the Middle Ages there was.much confusion between this Latin th and the native Knglish th. Latin words containing this "th v.ere properly pronounced with t, but in many cases the Knglish sound crept in. We still pronounce the th as t in "Thomas," "thyme," "Thames,'' but not in "theme."anthem" or "throne," which were all spelt alternatively with t in older Knglish. A different sort of confusion results when t and h happen to come together in a word of Knglish origin compounded of two words, one of which ends with t and the other begins with h. as in the names "Bentham" and "Trentham." and I have even heard th in "•Chatham." Cunning-ham Speaking of "Chatham," 1 sometimes hear the h very clearly pronounced in certain Knglish names ending in "ham," such ns "Buckingham," "Nottingham" and "Cunningham." Nobody now pronounces "Chatham'' otherwise than as "Chattum," but in the longer names the h is often heard, especially, I notice, over the air in "Buckingham Palace." American speakers v.lio have many pendantie pronunciations, in spite of tUeir supposed "froe-and-easy " nays, says Mr. "Cunning-ham" as it night he "Wily Bacon," but that is their own affair.

1 can not often spare space for dissertations upon the origin of surnames, but make an exception in favour of the name "Farr," about which f am asked. More than one origin is possible, but 1 have no doubt, that in most cases the name stands for tho Anglo-Saxon word "fcarr," which meant "a bull" or "bullock." It is one of- those numerous names of animals which men acquired at. first, probixblv as nicknames. Both "Bull" and "Bullock" are common as surnames, and we havo ,nn example of "Bull" as a nickname m the case of Lord Allenby, the conqueror of Palestine.