"TALKIE" TALK.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20988, 29 March 1930, Page 19

"TALKIE" TALK.

IT INVADES SYDNEY, WILL IT LAST? (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, March 20. ,The talkies are undoubtedly to blame for the new language that has invaded Sydney. From the mouths of flappers, particularly, you hear it. “I am thrilled to bits,” says the modern Sydney flapper, who ia as quick as a parrot—■ quicker, perhaps—to pick up the jargon of the worst of the talkies. Again, she might say, she does say, that she is “ bored to tears.” She talks about her latest “.thrill” when she tells of the latest young man to escort her anywhere, the “ thrill ” being the man himself, and'not the adventure. She-will hold out her hand and will say “ Shake ” or “Press the flesh.” Many Australian fathers are now “Pop.” All sorts of other words have crept into every day conversation without bringing about any improvement. The Premier of Western Australia (Mr Collier) was very severe on Sydney the other day. He said that he felt ashamed when he came to this city to see how America was Americanising young Sydney. He blamed the talkies for making Australian boys and girls ape the Americans in manner, dress, accent, and slang.

Tha question whether the talkies were having a seriously detrimental effect was answered by several prominent people. “ Too much slang is bad,” said Professor Wallace, vice-chancellor of the Sydney University. “ But it is hard to differentiate between Australian and American slang, or to say which ia the more harmful—or if either is very harmful. Personally I have not heard very much American slang used here. I think that the influence of the talkies on our language will be negligible.”

Professor Holme, professor of the English language, said that a certain amount of English slang was occasionally heard, but he did not think that it was firmly established. In any case it was not likely to live long, because slang was always changing. Others said that the novelty of some of the terms used in the pictures had impressed the youth of the day. They used those terms in their own speech because they thought they sounded clever. They would soon come to realise that they had enough slang of their own without going to America for more, and the majority would be loyal enough to stick to “ pure ” Australian slang, and so retain their own nationality. It was most notable that girls were greater offenders than youths in the use of American terms. "That was difficult to understand, for a girl who used slang of any sort did not add to her general attractiveness. ft So, it would seem, it remains for the “guys ” and “ dames ” to show that they are “ Dinkum Aussies.”