SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1909. THE ENGLISH TONGUE. And New Zealand Boys' Abuse of It.

Free Lance, Volume X, Issue 494, 18 December 1909, Page 6

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1909. THE ENGLISH TONGUE. And New Zealand Boys' Abuse of It.

THE annual repoit of the "Wellington College head-master, Mi J. P Fnth, is always woith ieading, heating, ma iking, and inwardly digesting Mi Filth is an authoiity on seteial matters, but he novel speaks with greatei authoiity than when he is discussing ' BojS." What he doesn't know about th< College boy in his early teens you can ask yomself not to worry about It isn't worth troubling over. Of couise, Mr Fnth has eveiy light to bo legarded also as an authoiity on 'The King's English" There's too much common-sense about the Wellington College hcnd-mastei to be a faddy pedant But he lias a wholesome legaid foi puie and coriect English Theiefore, when he speaks to the public on the subject of "New Zealand Bo\s and then Abuse of English" lie's wot tit listening to * * * In bis annual ropoit, piesentod at the prize-giving last Fudav afternoon, Mr. Firth let out on this subject Probably, the average boy at that gathering stiffened up bis back, looked hard at the head-master, and considered himself unjustly done bv , The Govoinor was in the chair, listening intently Also "pater" and "mater," and "aunt fiom the country" were in the hall They had come to see the prize-giving, and this was an unexpected reflection on the boys But the fact remained, still lemains, that Mr. Firth was quite right in what he said, and the public are indebted to this pedagogue foi his very straight-out comments on this important subject. * * * The head-master didn't mince matters. Noi did he seek velvet phrases in which to evpross what h-e had to say about the common, every-da-y abuses of our mother-tongue in the streets, on our sports grounds, and even in our schools. We are paiticularly pleased that Mr. Firth has spoken publicly on this matter. It is not so long ago that we got into bad odour with a section of the Wellington public for referring to this very fault in some of our besteducated people As we have previously remarked in these columns, even public-school teachers, when conversing ordinarily nith their friends, are in some instances guilty of grave defects and blemishes of speech Or-

t.unh, it is due, ah\a>b we behe\e, to caielossness But that is piecisely the fault with these boys But if the OKcmplais cannot go light, what hope to save the bo;s s and girls in the use of the language p Mi Fnth chai aetei iscd the general condition with legaid to oui New Zealand boy's common speech as "uncultnated eoaisenoss," and took to task in an admnable fashion a magazine wi itei who had recently avened that there was very httle wrong with the speech of. our New Zealand boys One has only to listen caiefully in public plaoes to hear a dozen abuses of English in as many minutes, not only bv oui boys, but also by our adults. We aic developing, slowly, but surclv, a language of our own A language void of the effecti\o m\isie of welllounded vowels and finely-expressed consonants A language besmiiehcd with slang, and that hideous "side" of winch Mi Filth spoke as 'the affectation winch is neocssanly \ ulgtvr " Such wholesome rebukes, dehveied in public, with the foice of authoiity that Mr. Futlis lemaiks contained should go fai to gne the public pause foi thought After all tho beauties of oui mothei*tongue aie well woith prpsoning and the task of pieseiving them is an mdi- \ ldual one