NEW ZEALAND ACCENT
OUR SPEECH DEFENDED PRINCIPLE OF INERTIA A defence of the speech cf the average New Zealander was made i by Professor Maxwell Walker at the Rotary Club luncheon yester- j day. He declared that it compared favourably with the average of any part of the British Empire. The universal principle of inertia had its effect, however, he said, and he was satisfied that all incorrect speech was due to laziness. Speech was, in itself, an important part of life. It was the expression of thought which had been defined as “life’s greatest miracle.” The voice was a beautiful instrument given to everyone to express thought and yet, he asked, how many paid attention to enunciation, pronunciation and articulation ? “How often in conversation has one to say ‘I beg your pardon' or ‘What did you say?*” he continued. “This should not occur nearly as often.” Someone had described the speech of the average Britisher a combination of lisp, mumble and groan, and an effort should be made to prove the statement false. Few of the people in the professions of teaching, law and the Church endeavoured to cultivate the instrument of voice. j
New Zealand accent was primarily due to inertia, which kept the speaker from opening his mouth wide enough. Hence the “ow” and “oi” vowel sounds. However, it made a mistake to be over-precise in the pronunciation of some words.
Inflection was the very essence of correct speech, he said. A wrong inflection was as bad as a wrong note in music. He hoped that the “artificial and nefarious” practice of teaching children to raise their voices at commas and let them fall at the full-stops was not longer used. Many public speakers pitched their voices too high. To build up a standard of naturai speech, said the professor, there should be lectures in elocution at the universities or training colleges, and all teachers should be compelled to take a complete course in the subject. In about 25 years’ time the national speech would then be a model.
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Bibliographic details
Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 348, 8 May 1928, Page 14
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342NEW ZEALAND ACCENT Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 348, 8 May 1928, Page 14
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