The Jeweller's Window

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31001, 5 March 1966, Page 12

The Jeweller's Window

(Specially written for “The

Press” by

ARNOLD WALL)

rvvss uy nniiubu nnLu; THE EDDY a change happens in a longestablished habit of speech something like and eddy may be observed. Some general tendency is simply reversed.

Having kept an ear on New Zealand speech for 66 years I have noticed some such occurrences. The latest to come under my notice is not more than five years old in my experience.

The general tendency in question concerns the long o, which in certain groups of words is, in the New Zealand speech, in so far as it varies from standard English, avoided and replaced by a short o; this applies, too, to the sound of the long open o spelt as aw or au.

The fact may be expressed by saying that the New Zealander dislikes a long o in a certain group of words. I give 12 examples in alphabetical order: bolster, pronounced bollster; bolt as if spelt bollt; choral (hall etc.), as in coral reef; hydraulic as hydrollic; jolt as jollt; molten as mollten; auction, usually oction in New Zealand; oral (examination) as orral; Rolls (Royce) rhymes with dolls: swollen rhymes with pollen: toll rhyming with doll; and troll (verb) as doll. It is noticeable that the shortening of o occurs often, not always, before 1. But it is also to be observed that the long o is left intact, not shortened, when it is followed by Id. Thus the o is invariably long in hold, old, fold, cold, told and so on. I confess that I can see no reason why we do this.

Can anybody see why the o should be short in bolt and long in bold? The only difference is that t is sharp and d is flat. Of course a sharp consonant is naturally shorter than a flat and there is a gleam of light there.

Now for the eddy. In one small group of words the exact opposite to this shortening tendency is to be observed. It is since about 1960, I think, that I have regularly heard over the air revolve as revoalve and so solve and other combinations of -volve. resolve, etc, similarly goalf for golf. Why do they do it?