COOLIDGE’S SPEECH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20192, 1 September 1927, Page 11

COOLIDGE’S SPEECH.

TRICKS OF PRONUNCIATION. President Coolidge’s exalted position gives him a prestige that almost amounts to 1 accepting him as a model in speech (says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Nevertheless — , , , . “The Mid-Westerner, seated before his loud-speaker, cannot fail to observe the difference between his neighbours’ forms of expression and those employed by President Coolidge. “ Those who had followed the executive through other radio speeches noted an improvement, from the Mississippi Valley viewpoint, in his New York address. Each syllable was clearly produced, barring, perhaps, the second one in ‘ Constitution.’ So strongly docs ho bring out the la«t syllable of adjustment ’ that he seems to Accent it. Lawyers frequently do that. Ho accents the first syllable of ' protected. “In 'concentrated’ he accents the second syllable, which formerly was the accepted usage, but which the dictionary makers no longer approve. In the word ‘ tribunal,’ the ' i ' is the longest available. “ Some of his pronunciations scorn strange to us. as doubtless ours would seem to a Bostonian. He persists in usin' • mackct ’ for ‘ market,’ narrowing the ' a where wo broaden it, but he evens this up by turning our short ‘a ’ in 'advantage ’ into ‘ advantage.’ Also, he shortens our broad ‘ large ’ to ‘lage.’ He uses ' air ’ for ‘ are.’ after the manner approved in the Ozarks 30 years ago, calls system ' system,’ and says ' stairted ’ where we would say ‘ started.’ In his ' Panama,’ the final ' a ’ is flat. "He calls ‘January’ ‘ .Temiary,’ but has almost abandoned the gratuitous ‘ r ’ which lie formerly affixed to 'China.’ There remains only a suggestion of it. ' Arbitration ’ becomes ‘ ahhitration.’ leading off with a flat ' a.’ but ' past ’ becomes ' pah-n,’ " In spite of these tilings, we can understand linn, which is the main point.”