The General's English

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 315, 6 July 1945, Page 8

The General's English

HERE was a very interesting example the other night of a telling colloquialism (or slang, if you like) in a talk by General Slim, who commands the 14th Army in Burma. Incidentally, it was good to hear this talk by the head of an army that hasn’t had anything like its due of publicity. One concludes from its achievements that this splendid army has a first-rate soldier at its head. Referring to the steps taken to supply and reinforce by air the British garrisons cut off in the Imphal area, an astonishing and perhaps unequalled piece of work, General Slim said that this had been described as "a brilliant piece of improvisation." Then he _ exclaimed "Improvisation my foot!" The phrase sounded like the bang of a door on a still night. My point is that this kind of language is very welcome on the air (occasionally at any rate) because it is so obviously sincere, and is a sort of thing that appeals to the listener. Far too many radio speakers speak the literary language rather than the spoken language, with the result that their talks do not strike home. I have no doubt that the staffs of Broadcasting Services do their best to make talks’ language homely, but they can’t do everything. Mr. Ivor Brown, the English critic, who is crusading for simpler English, mentions an example in a farming talk from the BBC. A farm worker referred to "depletion of staff.’ As Mr. Brown points out, such a man in ordinary circumstances wouldn’t use the word "depletion." He would say "with so many away."