Untitled

Otago Witness, Issue 3886, 4 September 1928, Page 5

“ Pronunciation of Maori words, beautiful in the mouths of the initiated, are grotesque in the attempts of those who are unaware of the five chief rules governing Maori vowel sounds,” said Mr Farquhar Young, elocution judge at the Hawera competitions (relates a northern paper). He said he had found Italians best able to pronounce at sight Maori words. After travelling on the railways and passing beautiful examples of Native words, he had discovered guards committing atrocious blunders when calling names of stations, .He suggested they should be obliged ,to pass a fest before being allowed to call the names of stations.