ENGLISH PLACE NAMES.

New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 339, 21 December 1945, Page 5

ENGLISH PLACE NAMES.

Sir,-‘‘Phonetics" misquotes my letter three times and double challenges on something I did not write-and why all the needless repetition? On the top of all he carefully avoids giving his own version of the pronunciation of Yarmouth. My pronunciation represented as "YWahrmowth" (not Yahrmouth) was simply my method of expressing the proper sound, but I also pointed a warning about the method. When one comes to think about it, there is something

ludicrous in the very idea of a pronounce ing Dictionary and it would be more correct to look on Daniel Jones as a collector of pronunciations. New arrivals to New Zealand could well be pardoned for pronouncing Onehunga as Wunhunga, but it is nonsense to suggest that they pronounce it as Wunhunger. Why should they? Any liberty they do take is all the more excusable when we know that very few people born in the country can pronounce it correctly, but usually say On« eh-hun-ga instead of the pleasing O-ne-hu-nga. I remember meeting at Leeds a manufacturer from Slaithwaite and on my saying the name.of the town, he informed me that although I had called it by the name it-was originally intended to have, everybody called it Slow-eight, at least that is as near as I can give the spelling. This state of affairs prevails all over Britain with place names, and Yarmouth is no excention.

ARGOSY

(Te Awamutu).

Sir,-Immediately after reading Miss Ngaio Marsh’s letter supporting the "Mawlborough" pronunciation, I heard an announcer on the BBC report that the "Indefatigable’ was about to visit the Marlborough Sounds, (pronounced as spelt). It appears possible therefore that this pronunciation of the place name is not regarded as "eccentric or ignorant" in its country of origin. Most New Zealanders, ignorant or not, call it Marlborough, and this is a better argument still. But I would like to complain of the Cabinet Minister who in a single speech said: inelig’ible, statuf’ory, industry, equit’able and yerr for year; and of the radio play actor who recently called the King’s Justiciar his "Tustice Seer."

YUMPTH

(Wellington).

THE POST-PRIMARY CURRICULUM Sir,-In a recent article on the new post-primary curriculum, it was stated that the view "that the relegation of the classics to the role of options and the simpler prescriptions suggested for those subjects, implied a lowering of educational standards" did not "seem to be generally shared by school principals." However, the statement does not seem to be accurate. On March 28 this year, a meeting of Auckland headmasters, headmistresses, and teachers of Latin, convened by Professor Cooper, unanimously resolved that the following communication be sent to the Minister of Education: "We believe that we speak for a majority of Secondary School Headmasters, Headmistresses and Teachers of Latin in asserting our conviction (@) that the proposed syllabus is both unwise and impracticable, being based on a grave misconception of the proper reasons for teaching Latin, (b) that to enforce such a) syllabus would take most, if not all, the virtue out of the teaching of Latin, (c) that the general character of secondary education would in consequence be debased. "Latin has a legitimate and important place in secondary education. We have no desire that Latin should be imposed as a compulsory subject upon all or upon any pupils. We do, however, assert the rights of those who have both the wish and the ability to learn it. We claim for these that they should be allowed to take such a course in Latin as will realise the true values of the subject, allow full scope for ability, and provide commensurate rewards for effort. The course proposed in the Post-Primary School Curriculum Report is not of this kind."

R. I. F.

PATTISON

(Havelock North),