For Women And What Do You Say?

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 51, 1 March 1941, Page 3 (Supplement)

For Women And What Do You Say?

By Clifford F. Butcher

MADISOX, Wit, January 2

COME say "eether" and some say "eye- '-' ther." but either is. correct if you eay it in the right place. If you grew up in an '"eyether" community, "eyether" it is for you. But if you come from the "eether"' country, you must keep the "i" in "either" forever under blankets or be suspected of affectation. The cultivated New Englander watches a '"fa'ineh"' on his "fa'm." while the equally well educated middle westerner sees a "farrmer"' on his "tarrm." Each is correct according to Hie dictates of his environment. For pronunciation is largely a matter of geography. Take the word of air expert, Dr." John S. Kenyon, who Mas pronunciation editor of the latest edition of Webster's dictionary.

This year, on leave of absence from Hiram College, Professor Kenyon is at the University of Wisconsin as a research associate in English on a Carnegie Foundation grant, compiling the first American pronouncing dictionary—

"a pronouncing dictionary of American words on a colloquial basics —a dictionary of cultivated conversational English as it is spoken in this country."

"A certain pronunciation becomes correct when it is in actual use by a sufficient number of cultivated speakers," says Dr. Kenyon. "The trend both in England and America ie away from the formal pronunciation of stage and -lecture platform towards the colloquial pronunciation of cultivated conversation.

"Scholars recognise three distinct regional pronunciations'" in the United States —eastern, southern and general American (western)," he says.

It's worth noting that the orthoepists accord the westerners' own pronunciation the title of "geuerar' American.

And why not? the professor demands. There are perhaps 10,000,000 Americans who use the pastern accent, thoee who live in Xew England and the Xorth Atlantic States. The southern accent is natural to some 25,000,000 more. But almost 100,000,000 speak with a western accent. The general American pronunciation extends even beyond the Connecticut River on the east.

Recently scholars have been according the University of Wisconsin the List word on English pronunciation. Lexicographers, linguists, orthoopists, phonetists—men who have made the study of words their life work—are turniiijr to Madison to learn how pertain words have been pronounced in particular regions of the United States and England at various times in the last 400 years. The university is the only place in the English-speaking world where the information is immediately available in such prodigious quantities.

It all started when Professor Miles L. Hanley, of the English department, began a study of English and American rhymes some five years ago. As associate director from 1931 to 1934 of

the Linguistic Atlas of the United States, sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies, Professor Hanley was impressed by the need of a more thorough study of the historical development of words.

Since then, he and his assistants have been thumbing through the works of the poets, listing rhymes, collecting thorn, indexing them. The original goal of 500,000 rhymes was passed long ago and -I.~>O.(HHI more were added.

"Large portions of the materials are ready now for use,"' says Mrs. Hanley, owner herself of several degrees in Englirih, who is supervising the collection of the rhymes. "When finished, the collection will present a survey of rhymes used by the. principal English and American poets of the last four centuries, together with those used by a large number of minor poets. Since the study of rhymes on a scale large enough to iule out accident!* and poetical idiosyncrasies is oho of the chief sources of evidence on the pronunciation of a given period and on changes that have taken place in the past, such a collection as this is essential for any historical study of English and American pronunciation." Collaborating with Dr. Kenyon on the pronouncing dictionary is Professor A. Knott, of the University of Michigan English department. Professor Knott chooses the words that are to be included in (he pronouncing dictionary. Professor Kenyon records the manner in which they are pronounced.

Among the books on Dr. Kenyon's desk is the English pronouncing dictionary edited by Daniel Jones, of Cambridge. Jts preparation was a simpler job than that which occupies Professor Kenyon. It is a dictionary of English as spoken by the products of the English public schools—the only cultivated pronunciation accepted in England. In America, ior many words there are dozens of pronunciations within the bounds of the three principal pronunciation regions. From among them the professor must choose not more than one, for each region—the one in most common use. How docs he do it? Well, there are the rhymes, and the Linguistic Atlas. There are other dictionaries—"Pronunciation is a common possession of scholars." There is the American .Speech Journal and many monographs on specific habits of speech. There is his correspondence with other scholars. Rut when all this information is assembled, the editor of the dictionary must fall back on hie own knowledge of the "cultivated colloquial' , language of the country. It's his own judgment, based on a lifetime of study, that guides the final selection. He uses his heart.

Choosing from so many dialectal variations is a prodigious job. "It might bo hard." ho says, "to (jhd two cultivated people who would pronounce exactly alike all the words in the following: 'When Mary Harris was married in Marion, various hilarious associates made merry a hundred ways and shared the hospitable home of her parents' "— X.A.N. A.