ORTHOEPY

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21330, 24 November 1934, Page 18

ORTHOEPY

to rii* lurrm or ran ei:*n. Sir, —Can you .spare mc an inch or j two to discuss the pronunciation of '■ Mime words which of late have been in : somewhat I'reciuent use? The Viclorian hundredth anniversary lias 1 brought into prominence the word I "centenary." which the radio armoun- j ' (.i s pronounce as if it were spelled j c entcc nary. Now. Webster's dictionary Kive.-i the pronunciation with; (he accent on the first syliablo----"centi'-nary." So docs Chambers' newest edition, American and Scottish, and there can be 110 doubt thai they an? right, for the English language has j a. tendency to push the accent as near : as possible to the beginning. 1 The present attempt to institute a new pronunciation emanates. I believe, fiom Oxford, but I submit that no university has any more right to alter the recognised pronunciation of words than it has to alter the spelling. Cen-tcn'-ary can be tolerated, but cen-teenary-—horrible! A correspondent of an American newspaper wrote to the editor asking him if he thought it necessary to pronounce the "r" in dorg. The answer of the editor was, "Not unless you are very particular." And there are some words in very frequent use on the air about which I would venture to give the same advice. There is. the "r" in Chinar, in lndiar, : in J'atear, in Cenevar. in Canadar, in idcar. in soi'ar, and. oh, please! in via''. ! You know, ihe Sydney mail sometimes

comes viar Auckland and sometime:; via Wellington. A parson in his sermon on one occasion made use of the word "hyperbole." and he exemplified it thus: "Friends." said he, "were I to say that at this moment the whole of this congregation are asleep, that would be hyperbole, lor there are a few awake." Pass on the yarns to the announcers. They will understand my meaning.—Yours, etc., J. AITKEN. Wanganui, November 20, 1934. j