The Hawera Star. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1930 DICTION AND ACCENT.

Hawera Star, Volume L, 6 August 1930, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 1930 DICTION AND ACCENT.

Delivered every evening by 6 o'olook in Hawera, Manaia, Kaupokonui, Otakeho, Oeo, Pihama. Opunake, Normanby. Okaiawa Eltham, Ngaere, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Te Kiri, Mahoe, Lowgarth, Manutahi. Kakaramea, Alton, Hurleyville Patea, Whenuaknra, Waverley, Mokoia, Whakainara, Ohangai, Meremere, Fraser Boad, and Ararata.

It may be news to admirers of one or more of the various kinds of American accent extant that educated Americans are not proud of any accent which proclaims the nationality of a speaker as “American.” Those who openly express their detestation of what they .mil “Yanxce twang” should welcome the news and at the same time be made a little more tolerant of America’s difficulties in regard to the attainment of good diction. Young New Zealanders who exhibit a tendency to adopt and adapt more and more American slang and secretly admire the “charm” of American accent should be saved from further folly by this news—but they will not be, unfortunately, as they do not include in their reading anything written on the subject. However, an occasional appeal to adults may serve in some small degree to stem the inflowing tide of foreign words and accent upon “ Empire” English. The distinguishing term is our own and it seems to us necessary, for America is quite certain it speaks and teaches English. One has only to read an American correspondence course on “good English” to realise -with a shock that another nation claims our mother-tongue as its own. But to get back to the good news (or, - perhaps, “noos”): the American Academy of Arts and Letters has awarded a gold medal for ‘'good diction on the radio” to the announcer for the National Broadcasting Company. The judges of this competition, in announcing their decision, make it very clear that they are quite as well aware as any super-sensitive New Zealander of the defects of much American I speech. They state very definitely that the winner of the medal has not been [granted the award because he is the most popular of the many announcers who “broadcast” in the United States. There may be, for all they know, others who appeal more to listeners because of their ready wit, or because of some other attribute, but all that has been looked for in the search for the “best” announcer has been well-articulated speech, free of accent and delivei'od in a pleasing voice. “What we have said “by this medal is that the winner lias ‘ ‘ the highest markings in articulation, “pronunciation, freedom from local ac-l “cent, freedom from strident or nasal! ‘ ‘ tone, and for general effect as to taste j‘ ‘ and scholarship. ’’ It u T ould thus appear 'that there are cultured Americans to |whom the nasal tone, the sing-song intonation and the slangy utterance are anathemas, even as they are to some of ns, and, as we have said, the realisation of such a fact should make us a little more careful when generalising about Americans and American speech. The population of the United States is heterogeneous and it is not remarkable that people of varied descent should have their own individual ideas of the language—but it is a matter for wonder that some New' Zealanders —and, in a greater degree, Australians —should regard as superior almost any one of the numerous American ver- : ,

sions of their own native tongue. The following statement from the American judges’ report on this American competition in English diction is informative:—“A man can suc“c.eed, with a very strident voice, but “he would have succeeded quicker with “a pleasant voice. A philosopher is “not aided by an accent which lie “gained in youth on a. farm. Wo suc“ceed in spite of these handicaps. As

“we gain in comparative ideas of art “and literature we should gain in com“parativc ideas of speech. That is “what taste means. 'We believe the “radio announcer can not only aid the

“European immigrant to acquire a “knowledge of good English, but that “lie can influence the speech of iso- “ luted communities whose young poo“ple have no other moans of compar“ing their own accent with the eulti-

“vatod voices of those who have had “the advantage of travel and education in the art. of speaking.’’ Teachers and parents who may lie worried by existing tendencies in the speech of the young people in their charge may see a gleam of hope in the reference to “provincialisms’’ and the refining and levelling influences of travel. If our youthful admirers of the “American language’’ could lie made to realise that, even by the best, class of American, accent is regarded as the outcome of certa.in limitations in education and experience, perhaps Americanisms would lose one of their principal attractions for our young imitators. I