THE "COLONIAL ACCENT."

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 395, 2 January 1909, Page 5

THE "COLONIAL ACCENT."

. « '' AND OTHER MATTERS. INTERVIEW WITH MR. EDWARD REEVES. , Conscious of 6' wicked '.' colonial' accent," the • .interviewer, _>approached Mr. Edward Rwwsl&st-iisveiiiiig.withßomoltrepidaticin. Mr.-Reeves is professor of, elocution to .'the Elder Consemwrium) attached ,'to tho University of Adelaidoj* and at present ho is touring New 'Zealand for the purpose of giving recitals.';' Ho -arrived in Wellington fast evening by the expresß from Auckland," and he did'nov complain about tho journoy. Ho admitted;that'when ho first gazed'at the stiff-baoked/Seatsy' and 1 thought' "of the'-twtaty hours be|ore,.'him,-hd:did' so'with . a ':troubled , soundly- thanin the.. sleepingcarsof" Australia, Mr. ;Reeves,, appeared 'Sufficiently amiable; to" jJmoH' anything,' and ■it beeamo easy to like.; Mr.: Reeves. 1 Moreover, ho. is almost &i New: "Zealarider; ; ■ 'He ~is a nephew of, Mr; Edward Reeves, ■ of this city, and seven yews of ;his youth—the formative period—wero lived in New Zealand. Battllrig Against Accent. But Mr; Roevcs did not deny the fault . .the, interviewer, bito his words like Suckling's bride. "Do I know tho colonial; accent P>..\MW,: .that -is what' I: am battling with;;all. day. s '. He, dealt, however;. verv.. gently-. by/.it> : admitting that...it • was P.robably. loss marked -■ •' in •, New • Zealand . than,r..,.>in-- :i ' •>,Australia, • ■ whore communities,i,\are vlarger v'and. older,-.and perhaps less, pronounced in -Auspeculiarities :of. speech i ! tt England. ,He had not had time iiP notice the affliction .very much in the' I dominion, but ho. supposed that it existed to some extent. "There is a general tendency m tho,growth of all communities," ho j explained, - - towards a deterioration of aocent,:and, the,: development of what 1 ' may cali that -'We' get our dofecfcivc .'colonial just na in more pronounced forin iprovincial variations • have grown up in England. Tho tendency can be 00 Siu a competent teaclicr, ' .The .effects of tho- oolonial accent Mr. Beeves , exemplified',;;by.-., soveral " inatances. With regard-to tho primary vowels, ?. s . ueclarod, , a,'' has a tenoenoy to become :,' V. Australian; if not. the-. New ■ Zeawollld. probably call Day's Bay, Di's it l, o has a tendency to bo made -.ao — ( been^^beeoraesbaen." "Givo ni& n loight,' and " who tcnvld you," ox--emplify. other . ' mispronunciations, while '■ soup " should not be mado the first syllable of 'superintendent." As regards tho' seconI tiary vowels/.the- word "law" too often beI oomes "lawr " or "lawa," one hears "re'puforty,'-' : and. "-the beautiful iword;; '-wmter' v "v is .debased .to .'wintr I : : 'AVnen the, ? ear has once been ..trained to-detects these errors,, theri is hope of •overcoming them. Funotlons of Elooutlon. | .-.•■lt was a.thooryof tho late Mel. B. Spurr I that the'.-conventions. of. ordinary elocution' teachers . ■ are ; ; falso and' harmful more -often tbari.'they .are. good.' - Spurr: professed that: he could: gOtlnb profit' from' their teaching, and tho pressman lightly threw this remark at Mr. Reeves in retaliation for the ac- 1 cent.- Mr.vßeevo!s: reply showed that he is i yriot an •.ordinary,/ elocution -:tcacher. ~' "Eleoutioni". he opqplaihed; :!'is a -speech .art,- and tho .-histrionic/ or artistic, aspect,,is only one side, and tho loss important side of it. Elocution does nqt exist, so much for the sake of' gifted people; as; : te make, defective.'speakers oreditaole ;OMS. believe !that, : elocution, as a speech art .pure and simple, irrespective of the or artistic side, should be taught-' riglit.V through. the' Government schools." :,Then'thore would be no evil accent. . The conquest oannot be made at once. "Elocution, is .gymnastio, ithe'.samb; as anything else. ,You: can't got good souild spoech from flabby lips, _. weak,, toneqes and; palates, and undeveloped vocal chords." Mr. Reeves's own speech is unclipped coinage from a good "inititV-./-':"- , A Pleasing'. Ropcrtotro. But Mr. RceVcs'is not engaged in teaching elocution .just at present>--nbt' direotly," at ;any rate. from'his experiences in Sydney, Melbourne/.arid; "Auckland, he is-de-lighting audionces ;with' .his',finished . demon"stratioiis ■ of : the ar(f ; ' as applied •to some very fresh and, literature. Ho works on -tho lines of.Mr. Lock' Richardson,' the R«v. Charles Glark, and the late Mr. -Oliff?rdi Harrison,-; m giving ■ singlo-subjcot recitals, which aro ÜBUally of about two hours' duration. , Tho public, find those a novelty, aftor the numerous miscallanoous programmes which they, hear, and so far have exprossed their warm appreciation of, the' practice. The Wellington reportoire 'includes Dickens's "Christmas Carol,!' Oonan Doylo's '.'Exploits of Brigadier Gerard," and Ralph Connor's