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New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 337, 7 December 1945, Page 25

Sir-"Homey" seems to have stirred up local feeling in regard to English pronunciation of place names, but why John W. Price should feel vexed about the pronunciation of Yarmouth as Yarmuth surprises me. Phonetically it is wrong, but to apply a hard and fast rule of phonetics to the English language is to rob it of all its individuality and much of its beauty. From the King downward Yarmouth, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Exmouth, and a score of others are pronounced with the final "muth." The only exception to, this rule that I can think of at the moment of writing, that gets its full phonetic sound, is Avonmouth. Mawlboro for Marlborough is another national privilege, shared by all men familiar with the name. If J.W.P. were to ask a London taxi-man to drive him to the Marl-boro Club the chances are that he would have to ask the first policeman where the Club was and spell it. Every taxi-man in London knows that the Mawlboro Club is in Paw Maw, or what J.W.P. would call Pall Mall. If J.W.P. visited Oxford and asked for Mag-da-len College he would be met with a pained look and a gentle sug- gestion that he meant Maudlin. And if he wanted to hunt with the Bel-voir hounds, and did not pronounce it Beaver, the M.F.H. would cut him dead. Will J.W.P. say to what rule or tradition Parapardumu and Paekakariki have been debased to Paraparam, and Pycock, respectively. It must hurt the Maori to a, his beautiful language thus mutilated. "

ANOTHER HOMEY

(Wellington),