THE MOTHER TONGUE & PICTURES

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19452, 17 December 1934, Page 11

THE MOTHER TONGUE & PICTURES

(To the Editor.) , Sir, —In his plea for purity of the /mother tongue Professor W. Sewell, speaking at the Hamilton High School ’breaking-iup ceremony yesterday; drew ; attention to the misuse of the English j language. | Accent is hard to standardise, and is ' not without its humorous side, as ; variations are sometimes quite.notice-j able with either a sudden or gradual \ but nevertheless pronounced increase j in a banking account. Professor j Sewell points out a very grave danger j in the influence that films and their J description in the newspaper's are hav- | lng on our young folk. Teachers of English in schools must experience feel- j ings of acute disappointment when conversing with a former promising pupil who during the period of adolescence has become a picture devotee and adopted the American style of diction and accent. A large section of the public is ever gullible and'swayed by advertisements in the selection of its entertainment, and a grave responsibility rests with picture theatre manager's and those responsible for tlie advertising matter announcing the film. Some time ago I was astounded at the poor attendance at a Him called “Hiridle Wakes,” which was almost a classic and magnificently acted. I commented on this to the manager, who staled that it was not worth advertising, and he had concentrated on advertising the picture/for. the next change, entitled “She , Hone ’im Wrong." The star in this latter picture seemed to maintain her place in the constellation by an outstanding ability to emit nasal sounds which in some respects resembled human speeclr. The theatre was crowded, but I have heard no one express appreciation of the picture; which means that they were really drawn there by the advertising. The manager’s contention that die public do not appreciate a cultured picture is refuted by tlie fact that, they invariably boost 1 "Ariiss” pictures, which tlie public hugely appreciate. Tlie themes Ariiss chooses are mostly historical,, display- j lng culture. ‘ ' This misdirection of the public (by which I mean it is impossible to tell the quality of Hie picture by the ad- ! vertiscmenls and write-ups) is largely! responsible for an ever-increasing percentage of “nasal snarl” supposed to be English speech, with which one meets nowadays. The passing of the legitimate stage of (lie llesh-anil-blood shows is a mailer for deep regret, as it had an incalculable effect in keeping the dielion of Ihe community pure. If picture theatre managers are responsible for Iheir own advertising then only men of education and culture should be appointed In these positions if ihe dieHnn n| the public is In be kepi from ! degenerating into the same style that, i

is used in “Haarlem , and The Bowery,” and Professor Sew ell is to bo congratulated on pointing out this canker » «» ■Hamilton. December 14, 1934..