DROPPING THE “S”

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 356, 13 September 1933, Page 3

DROPPING THE “S”

0 New Zealand Place Names Press Association. —Copyright. , , .Wellington, September 8. One of the. proposals to be made by the New Zealand Geographic Board in a publication at present being prepared is the elimination of the possessive “s” from all place names. It is stated that steps have been taken in ibis direction in the oast, and that

It is stated that steps have been taken in this direction in the past, and that some of: the changes have been generally adopted. ‘ An effort was made to get Arthur’s Pass, Canterbury province, altered to Arthur Pass, but local prejudice was too strong and the “s” still remains.

It was stated by a member of the board to-day that in nearly all' cases the apostrophe “s” was unnecessary. The Pass did not belong to Arthur, but was named after him. On one occasion when it was desired to name a peak in the Tararua Range after Mr. W. H. Field, M.P., the Geographic Board offered no objection, but made one condition, that the name was Field Peak, not Field’s Peak. The condition was accepted.

In the same way, it was Cook Strait, not Cook’s Strait, Haast Pass, and not Haast’s Pass. The “s” had been succesfully dropped from Harper’s Pass, which was the Hurunui Saddle, and, was now spoken of everywhere as Harper Pass. There were exceptions to the dropping of the apostrophe or final “s.” In the case of Banks Peninsula, the man after whom the peninsula was named was Banks, not Bank. “Devil’s Elbow” and “Devil’s Punch Bowl” wore instances where the possessive “s” still remained, as such names were descriptive. A similar practice is being followed by the Canadian Geographic Board, but the British Geographic Board is more conservative in the matter, although the New Zealand proposals have received the approval of the Name Place Society in England. Another interesting subject which is being dealt with in the now publication is the pronunciation of Maori names. Not only is the correct pronunciation being clearly set out, but the incorrect pronunciation is being given also. “Wanganui” is one of the instances. It should be spelt Wihanganui, and the aspirate should be sounded, although it is rarely done by Europeans, and the Wanganui natives do not sound the "h.” Yet Wanganui natives always spell the name with an “h” when writing it, and it is because they do not pronounce the aspirate as other Maoris do that ihe Wanganui natives are called the “cockneys” of the Maori race.

. It is hoped to have the manuscript ready in the next two months and it will possibly be published with a quarterly part of the Polynesian Journal.