INFLUENCE OF FILM SPEECH

Taranaki Daily News, 29 September 1930, Page 7

INFLUENCE OF FILM SPEECH

CHILDRENS ENGLISH IN DANGER. “Most of the board of censors in New Zealand are women. That is astonishing to me in view of some of the films that are let through,” remarked Mr. T. Jordan, when a remit from the Carterton District Committee of the Wairarapa Progress League was under discussion at a meeting of the general committee of the league at Masterton. The remit urged that educational, films for children be allowed into the Dominion duty free. The organising secretary, Mr. J. IN. McLean, read a letter receivedj*Tecently from the Minister of Education, .Hon. H. Atmore, with regard to American talking films. “I have given earnest attention to the introduction of means to prevent the exhibition of undesirable films and posters, and to secure a larger proportion of British films,” wrote Mr. Atmore. “There is no doubt that the idioms used by the less educated Americans as well as the peculiar, and to the British ears, objectionable American intonation, affect the speech of New Zealand children. In the schools of the Dominion teachers are patiently trying to improve the speech of their pupils, training them to enunciate clearly and to use the pure and correct speech of an educated Englishman. It is unfortunate that their work should be made more difficult than it naturally is by the presentation in the picture theatre of speech that breaks many of the rules which they are trying to impress. It must be admitted,. however, that the film producers are trying to do someto train their Actors and actresses in the use of. English as opposed to American speech, and that in some ot the more recent films a great improvement is noticeable.*’