SPOKEN ENGLISH
Sir,-M. H. Atkinson makes a good point in saying that articles about our | speech are unsatisfying, increasing the doubt of the doubtful. The articles try to tell us what we should say, but they are far from clear, and I say that until we have a phonetic alphabet, one which provides a separate sign for each sound used, it will be next door to impossible to teach pronunciation by exposition in black and white. R. G. B. Lawson also" is to the point with the idea that we should simplify the matter of New Zealand speech by refraining from speaking of standard English, educated English or any other classification of English speech. Let us not say that our standard is Educated New Zealand Speech. Let us call it New Zealand Speech, and see to it that that means correct grammar, correct pronunciation and correct enunciation. But we must have a phonetic alphabet. I may speak the horrible New Zealand O which offends Gordon, but how can he print in The Listener that which will enablé him clearly tc express the horrible sound and the correct sound. If we were to create New Zealand Speech it would not be anything strange or ncvel. It would be almost entirely the same as English speech-all that would be done would be to eliminate undesirable words and incorrect pronunciations. To eliminate the use of undesirable words might be the work of several generations: I believe that almost immediate results in the matter of correct pronunciation could be achieved ‘with a phonetic alphabet.
ALPHA
(Stratford).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 425, 15 August 1947, Page 28
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262SPOKEN ENGLISH New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 425, 15 August 1947, Page 28
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