ENGLISH PLACE NAMES.

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 336, 30 November 1945, Page 25

ENGLISH PLACE NAMES.

Sir,Lunden, Londun, Lundun, or Lunnen. Britain is full of local dialects and accents; they cause no end of interest to visitors, ‘but no one would dare to argue that the pronunciation as printed was the only right way and that local dialects and accents were wrong. Both are right if they both convey sense. William Cobbett says in his Grammar (1817): "Though the Scots say coorn, the Londoners cawn, and the Hampshire folk carn, we know they all mean corn. Good English is a matter of good grammar, not of accent. The purpose of language is to inform... . it is sense, not sound that is most important." So say all of us dialectal Homies.

METOO

(Kaitaia).

Sir,-"Argosy," although correct in saying that there are an inadequate number of letters in our alphabet to represent correctly the points. in the English pronunciation, made a very poor first of showing us what "Homey" meant when he said "Yarmouth" is pronounced "Yarmuth." He assumes that "Homey’s" "Yar" in "Yarmuth" is the same as "Yar" in "Yarrow" and that the "muth" is pronounced as ‘the "moth" in "mother." I should: be very much surprised if "Homey" meant any such thing: He goes on to say: "This does not alter the fact that the modern standard English is Yahrmouth but there is nothing to hinder the inhabitants calling it what they like." I challenge him to produce any recognised standard publications on prohunciation to bear him out that the modern English standard pronundiation is "Yahrmouth." The recognised dictionary of English pronunciation is by Daniel Jones, This is a pronouncing dictionary only, and in all cases where there are more than one generally accepted pronunciation he gives them all. Where place names are concerned he gives the commonly used pronunciation, and, if there is a purely

local pronunciation he gives that also. So I again challenge "Argosy" to quote the authority that gives "Yahrmouth" as standard modern English usage. If he means New Zealand standard pronunciation of the word I still maintain he will find little authority for his statement, I am personally of New Zealand birth and I certainly don’t pronounce it in the manner. he states standard, nor have I ever heard any educated person, New Zealand born or otherwise, who does. But even if it were true that the majority of educated New Zealand-born people pronounced it as he advocates, would that make it correct? If the greater number of people in England were to pronounce "Onehunga" as "Wunhunger" (as many new arrivals do) would "Argosy," if he. were living in England, maintain that their pronunciation was correct and would he refrain from pointing out that was not the proper way to pronounce it?

PHONETICS

(Nelson).

Sir,-The pronunciation of "Yarm’th" is not dialectal but universal in England where, I believe without exception, all place-names ending in "mouth" are given the same treatment. The Churchills call the head of their family "Mawlborough," Boys who go to Marlborough call it "Mawlborough," and the founders of the province in New Zealand undoubtedly observed this usage. Any other pronunciation of these place-names would, in their country of origin, sound either eccentric or ignorant. One might as well defend Lon-don (to rhyme with Ron-Don) against "Lund’n."

NGAIO

MARSH

(Christchurch),