"THE TALKIES."

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20257, 17 May 1929, Page 14

"THE TALKIES."

Sir,—Various letters •have appeared iii the press relative to the demoralising effect the "talking .picture",..will allegedly have upon New Zealanders and their pronunciation of the English language. "Briton," whose letter appeared in Thursday's Herald, views the" advent of the talking picture with alarm and ■ urged the Education Department to see what it can do in the matter —as if the above department has the power, let alone the right, to dictate to the public of this country what class of entertainment they, the public, should attend. " Briton " says, in effect, that if we attend the talkies we shall develop the accent peculiar to North Americans, including our brothers, the Canadians, and, of course,, that would be to "Briton," arid, his type, the beginning of the end of New Zealand. It does not necessarily follow that, because one is a devotee of the "talkies," one will lose his English accent, any more than it does that, because one associates with recent arrivals from Home, one would acquire their method of pronouncing our English as it should not be pronounced, with missing b's and distorted vowels. " Briton " should remember that there are thousands of Americans who speak drawing room English, and he should also bear in mind that not every American speaks .with a twang, any more than does every Englishman speak with a cockney or county accent. Frank 0. Reardox.