A LESSON IN ERSE

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 17, 21 January 1938, Page 10

A LESSON IN ERSE

PRONUNCIATION

THE NEW SOVEREIGN STATE

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, January 1.

The only factor that, has threatened the pre-eminence of the new sovereign, independent, and democratic State of Eire as a topic of conversation this week has been the inability of most people to pronounce it. An expert comes to the rescue witn the information that Eire is pronounced "air"; An Taoiseach, Mr. de Valera's new title, is "un teesha"; Uachtaran, as the President will be called, is "uktarawn"; An Toireactus, or Parliament, is "un turacktus"; and.Liail Eireann, the Dail first House of Parliament, is "dawil ayrun." Broadcasting announcers, please note!

No time has been lost in giving effect to the change of name in London. A new bronze lplate appeared immediately in Regent Street announcing "The High Commissioner for Ireland," in place of the former "The High Commissioner for the Irish Free State"; a brand-new letterhead has sprung up on his office stationery, and the telephonist announces himself magnificently as "High Commissioner for Ireland."

Another change, to be looked for shortly will be the identification letters on the number-plates of Irish cars, which at present bear the SE, for Saorstat Eireann. The allotment of international identification letters is made by officials of the International Convention Relative to Motor Traffic, with headquarters in Paris. E is already "bagged" by Spain. I, the initial of Ireland, which is the new official title of the Free State in English, already belongs to Italy, and IR to Iran. It looks as if Eire will either have to have a three-letter designation, or else the first two letters of the Erse title, EL