ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 244, 28 July 1936, Page 8

ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

“A DECLINING THING.” VITALIT’Y “OF AMERICAN. “One of the best things that could happen to the English language in England and New Zealand is that it should become Americaniscd,” de—clared Professor W. A. Sewell, of Auckland University College, when ad.dressing members of the Auckland Creditmen’s Club at their luncheon on the subject of some recent developments in written and spoken English. “The only language that is alive, energetic and expressive is the American language,” he added. “Today the English language, as written and spoken in: England, is a declining thing.” Professor Sewell said that when people learned phonetics at the university they heard of received standard English, something which no one ever spoke. It was a. kind of average of all the snobbish dialects in English. One of the first developments he had noticed in modern spoken English was an attempt on the part of the British Broadcasting Corporation announcer, the parson in the pulpit, and the pro»fessor at his desk, to approximate to this dialect. Flat, Monotonous Speech. It did not do much harm as long as this received standard English was confined. to the common rooms of Oxford and the West End stage, continued Professor Sewell. But to—day. unfortunately, it was being hleatcd through every loud-speaker, and he-