OUR MOTHER TONGUE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 133, 29 February 1936, Page 7

OUR MOTHER TONGUE

(By Pbofessoe Aenold Wall.) Pronunciations “Civilisation.” The question concerns tlie third syllable; is the 1 long as in “wise” or short, as in “is”? Authorities allow both, but the preference is for the long i, when the “civills—”.is pronounced like “civilise.” Traditionally' the short sound is actually the better; the best 18th century authorities made it short and represented it phonetically with an e, thus distinguishing the first i (spelt i)‘from the second and third, both lightly .pronounced and spelt e. Nouns ending in —or: competitor, Trevor, etc. The —or in these is sounded exactly as if written —er. “Organisation”: This is fully stressed on the fourth syllable—at—and the'first is'also stressed but more lightly. The first iis long as iu “organise.” The pronunciation with stress on —“an” and a short lis wrong though frequently heard.

“Irrevocable”: This must be stressed in the “—rev—”; no other pronunciation is permissible. “Beret”: This, as a very recent'introduction from French, is pronounced without the.t, approximately' “betray.” The immigrant has not yet shed its national costume. “Basic,” in “basic slag”: A correspondent asks about this word and tells me that when he first came to New Zealand he was laughed at for pronouncing it with the long aas in “base.” No English authority gives any other sound for it than this. The tendency to pronounce it “bassic” seems to be peculiar to this country and, perhaps, Australia. “Viola”: This is yet another example of a difference between the accepted English and the New Zealand pronunciation of a Latin word due to the adoption in our schools of the "contitentaL” .method of pronouncing Latin. English people generally. pronounce “viola” like “violent” without the nt, while here it tends to be “veeola.” There are, however, as many as five variants of If in English. In such cases it seems harsh to condemn the local usage, for the “continental” pronunciation of Latin is on every count preferable to

the English, yet when a Latin word is adopted in English it should be anglicised,. though we are terribly inconsistent in our practice. “Viola,” I should say, will ultimately be anglicised here as at Home; after all, we do not say “veeolet” for “violet” which is a diminutive form of “viola.” I note, by the way, that “iodine” Is usually pronounced here as "iodeen,” but if we are to be consistent it should be either "iodine” (both i’s as in “dine”) or “eeodeen.”

• “Advertisement”: This occurs in a batch of mispronunciations collected in New Zealand by a correspondent. It is, of course, stressed upon the “vret,” not upon the “ise,” though the latter is usual in Ireland and elsewhere.

“Controversy”: Stressed upon the first and third syllables, not upon the second.

“Admiralty”: Stressed upon the first, not upon the third syllable as my informant, has. bearpit. , “’Casualties’’*: Stressed upon tlie first,’ not upon the third syllable. I have actually heard this pronounced “causalities.” : : S? , ' ,' . > “Launceston”: 'The correct sound is Launston. in.two syllables, n,ot iu three.

“Westminster*!-: Sometimes erroneously pronounced (and even spelt)Westminister.

“Gesture”: The g is soft and 1 have never heard it sounded otherwise, but my correspondent has heard it hard as in “get.”

“Cirencester”: The old pronunciation' of this Sussex town was Sissister, but even in the town itself it is now pronounced as spelt, with Ciren as ■'Siren.” This has happened in the case of many English names of towns and villages, and also of surnames like Cowper and Raleigh.

“Lyinpne”; This odd-looking natpe is pronounced “Lun.” 'lt has been a puzzle to many, including myself, being the name of 'an obscure Kentish village which nbbody heard of before the days of aviation. 1

“Buenos Ayres”: The standard anglicised pronunciation is given as “Bonuzairiz,” witli long o, but others are-cur-rent and in my experience most people make it more like, the Spanish as Bweuos Iriz or —ez.

Los Angeles: This is anglicised as Lossangiliz, the “ang” as in “angelic.” “Surveillance”: In spite of its French appearance this word is quite anglicised and is usually pronounced “survailance” with the stress on "vail," but the 11,is sometimes, given the French value of “ly” ; authorities recognise both “1” and >:ly” as good. “Agley”: This Scottish word is pronounced “aglee” with the stress on “glee” ; it is familiar to Englishmen only in' a well-known quotation from Burns. “Plaza”: I am asked whether this is Italiauiand how it is to be pronounced. It is Spanish, pronounced “Piahza.” The corresponding Italian form is “Piazza,” with z as ts.

“Kliandallah”: A correspondent, referring to my earlier note on this informs me that,.the name is Marathi, not Hindustani, and that the correct pronunciation (which of course could hardly be recommended in Wellington) requires an aspirated k with a nasal sign (“khn”) and both a’s like the a in “father.”

“Jowl”: An enquirer who has, been told that the correct, pronunciation of this word is “jole’ asks whether this ie so. The answer is that the standard pronunciation was “jole” till about the end of the 18th- century, when the modern sound, as in “fowl” superseded it. Other words in this group have a similar history; e.g. “prow," “prowess” and “prowl” remained in doubt throughout the 18th century, gome authorities favouring the long o in all of these and others the ow of “fowl." “Bowl” has held its own (except in the North of England), without changing its form, while “roll,” formerly “rowl,” is protected by its newer form from the pull of “owl,” “fowl,’ “cowl,” etc.

“Hygiene,” "hygienic”: A correspondent, informed by his dictionary that “hygienic” should be pronounced in four syllables, “hy-gi-enn-ie,” with snort e in “en,” asks me to discuss the point. Authorities do not agree upon it. Daniel Jones decides for “hy-jeen” two syllables, while not excluding “hy-ji-een” altogether, and “hy-jeen-ic” only for the adjective. The Oxford Dictionary favours “hy-ji-een” and “hy-ji-een-ic” or “enn-ie.” Fowler also gives "hy-ji-een," and “hy-ji-enn-ic,” with short e, for the adjective. Undoubtedly the majority of speakers, throwing etymology to the winds and disliking the awkward hiatus between 1 and c, sya “hy-jeen” as Jones directs, and “hy-jeeu-ic,” and I have no doubt that these will ultimately prevail in spite of the weighty authorities on the other side. Meanwhile, at the moment, it would puzzle any one to decide yhiclj jp more correct,

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