TALK ENGLISH.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18367, 28 April 1925, Page 9

TALK ENGLISH.

EVILS AND REMEDIES. "That this branch of the English Association, being the only branch in Now Zealand, learns with great interest that efforts aro being made by the Minister of Education to improva the standard of English speech in the schools of New Zealand, and wishes to convey to him its warm sympathy and support and the desire of its members, individually and collectively, to assist him towards this end in every way in their power," was a motion passed by the Christchurch Branch of the English Association at a meeting at Canterbury College last night. Professor A. "Wall presided over about 30 memA discussion on tho pronunciation of English was opened h# Mr T. Cane with a strong indictment of slipshod English. In Now Zealand interest was enhanced because the Department bad taken tho matter Up. Mr G. B. Shaw liad made some excellent suggestions that English should bo spoken so as to bo intelligible to foreigners, bad pronunciation « often due to slovenliness and destroyed the musio of language. English people should bo proud of an athleticism in their speech. Though there was no such thing a* "correct language," there should bo a language to teach, and changes in New Zealwid speech would probably come in the direction of assimilation of weak consonants and weak lip sounds, ana there would be a Cockney speech, as in Sydney. The Education Department should import some specialists who would be fresh and note the real facts, and all teachers should <*> changed. Thero must be a standard, "a form of language free from corruptions and scraps of dialect." faults were duo moro to nervousness than indolence. . „ , . . Mr K. J. Monteajth said he had noted the Cockney pronunciation in New Zealand on his arrival, arid could still perceive it after 19 years. He had recently purchased a gramophone, which persisted in saying "\\ho> did oi kiss that gal?" and the influence ot such gramophono records was wide ana detrimental. , Mr T. Rowe said that, m conjunction with steps taken in New Zealand to correct the Cockney language, steps should be taken at Homo, where tho trouble originated. Many slow changes in the vowels were due to a natural process of evolution. Thus "beautiful would probablv become "bootiful, and "duty" "dooty." But quite apart from "these was the suppression of syllables in words such as ''government, "librarv" and "particularly." Dr. Lester considered the change inevitable and no moro prevalent »» New Zealand than anywhere else. Cultured speech always belonged to a ( small class and common degradation was due to the following facts:— (1) Jhe cultivated class was smaller in New Zealand; C2) the greater part of the cnlonv is educated; (3) the youth u New "Zealand is much freer than that of other countries: (4) people in authority in New Zealand are not like th<; pundits of Oxford and Cambridge; (5) j speech is a matter of imitation; ((5) had English is not important but merely annoving. Professor T. G. R. Blunt said he thought that pronunciation should bo taught in tho early years. In France the children were taught that theirs was the finest language in the world. Mr J. M. Crawford, director of the Deaf and Dumb Institute, said that the tendency to nasalise vowels could be cured by teaching children to breathe quickly, thus raising tlie soft palate. It was a stupid fallacy to talk about tho loose formation of the lips, as they were very "rarely used. Speech habits were formed Tcry early, and it would be best to teach by speech tables. Professor Wall said that the names of onlv three subjects were pronounced correctly at the college—French, Greek and German. One heard examples such as political scnince, flosfy, bokney (botany) and pbysickl jograpby.