RUINED VOWELS.

Waikato Times, Volume 110, Issue 18407, 14 August 1931, Page 5

RUINED VOWELS.

IN AUSTRALIAN SPEECH. MR BAEYERTZ IN WELLINGTON. For the purpose of judging the elecutionary classes at the Wellington Competitions Society's festival, Mr C. N. Baeyertz, of Sydney, who was a judge at the inaugural festival many years ago, arrived in Wellington by the Makura, after having been absent from New Zealand for 12 years. Mr Baeywtz had a good deal to say about the Australians, particularly about the way they speak, and he drew comparison between the general artistictaste of the New Zealander and the general lack of It in an Australian. “ The average New Zealander has a far more careful regard for the beauty of the English tongue,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to return here for that reason alone, and it’s a delight to be in a country where they have a sane Government.” Mr Baeyertz said that he liked to think that with Mr D. M. Findlay he had been responsible in no small degree for the formation of the New Zealand Competitions Society in Wellington. He was inclined to regret that the name had been changed and had lost its national sound. For some years prior to the formation of the society in Wellington Mr Baeyertz had judged competitions at Dunedin, and had been of the opinion that a society called the New Zealand Competitions Society, existing in the centre and capital of New Zealand, could be made a far bigger thing than a merely

The first committee had been full of go-ahead enthusiasts, he said. Mr “ Jimmy ’’ Dykes was a wonderful secretary. At the first festival the standard was higher than the standard at any other festival which Mr Baeyertz knew, although he had adjudicated at 55 of them in Australia and New Zealand. At this first Wellington festival, he was judge of singing and elocution, and he recalled that choirs had come from several parts of New Zealand. Including Dunedin. The choir which won gave a magnificent performance. It came from Feilding and was conducted by Mr Temple White. Expects No Praise. It was something new for him. said Mr Baeyertz. to be judging elocution alone. In this way he could always be sure of at least a little praise. The elocutionists thought that he was at all events not an altogether had judge of singing, and the singers would say usually that he probably knew something about elocution. “ This time 1 suppose I shall got no praise al all," he said. In New Zealand Mr Baeyertz is widely known as the founder of the now defunct “ Triad.’’ a journal devoted to Hie arts, which he edited for 30 years. Ho thought that a few people might like to know why the periodical had gone out of existence. When he came back to Australia in 1920 from a tour of Hie world he thought it would be possible to increase the scope of the publication by forming it into a company. His new associates, however, wanted to interfere on the editorial side of the paper and to popularise it in a way that did not appeal to him. Mr Baeyertz wanted to preserve the paper’s individuality. ,\t this stage he was offered Hie editorship of the “Sunday Times” (Sydney), and washed his hands of the ” Triad.” In a year the “Triad” was defunct. Mr Baeyertz regretted all this a good deal. During his world tour he had received several attractive offers, but had turned them down. The “ Triad ” was the only thing that lie had taken him back to Australia. “It’s a Mistykc—lV o Down’ll” A change of subject brought Mr Baeyertz Io the -question of spoken English. The English one heard in New Zealand was on the whole vastly .superior to the English spoken in Australia, he said. It was an extraordinary thing that in Australia men and women wore educated, even doctors, lawyers, scientists, and those who had been iq universities often spoke abominably.

He insisted on quoting the language of some children whom he said he had heard intoning “ some sort of antiphonal chant” while playing a game There had been six of them, he said, three of them facing the other three. One group called out: “ Shape, shape, come owmue.”

” Fried,” said the others. “ Woh tov?” asked the trio. “Woo-ful," was the answer. Then came the respouse, “Woof-ul wown't be owme till noine er’clock ter-noight, so shape, shape, come, owme.” “ I heard all this in a garden in Sydney.” Mr Baeyertz said. “ I thought it so typical that I wrote a satire nn the abominable broadening of the vowels, which is so prevalent in Australia, and took it to my friend, Mr Bertram Stevens, who was editor of the “ Lone Hand.” He read it through to the somewhat bitter end, and then drew himself up with considerable dignity and said. - It’s a mistyke to suppowse that way spake loike that—we down’ll”

Mr Baeyertz said that colourblindness was a rather uncommon thing and it was hard to understand why lone-blindness should be an affilicHon of the average person in Australia. They never heard themselves speak. Nor had they ideas of art and literature compared with the average New Zealander’s taste in such subjects. in a literary way this was best illustrated by an examination of the books in a public library. In Australia it was the trash and rubbish which showed most signs of wear, while the best books remained in a clean condition. In New Zealand, as far as he knew, the opposite state of affairs existed. He confessed that he did not understand why the Australian should be so backward in the respects he had mentioned. In other spheres they wore Intelligent and progressive. “ I am not saying all this when I am here and saying something different in Australia.” Mr Baeyertz remarked. ”It is just, in this way that I have talked ever since I went over Io Australia in 1914. The bettereducated Australians ail know it too. They admit that the New Zealander is In a class by himself compared with lhi‘ Australian as far as Hie appreciation of good art, literature, and music is concerned.”