"NEW ZILLAND"
Sir-In reference to the "New Zilland" or as often as not the "Noo Zilland" pronunciation, it is only" fait to point out that this travesty of a° yame which should be musically sounded’ to make it acceptable at all, occurs in high places in the political arena as Well as in the mouths of radio speakers. This lapse leads one to reflect rather ruefully on the question of correct pronunciation,since fearful and wonderful renderings of familiar words come out of the ether from time to time, leading the listener to speculate whether it is’ his own lack of culture which makes them sound strange, or whether the BBC, whose father and mother is the Oxford Dictionary, has licensed these changes. To cite a few of them I have noticed; such words as "compensate" and "noncombatant" have now become.."c sate" and "nun-cumbatant." One. personality always says "illyustration" for "illustration" and "Parlyament" ‘for "Parliament"; another with a b ; anglicising the French langt "mes dames" literally according. "fo:spelling. One of our visiting speakers recently referred to a "capitalist"..with the emphasis strongly on the syllable "pit." It’s all very confusing to have to learn the language all over again. Could any of your readers supply any more "howlers" which I may have missed?
ISABEL M.
CLUETT
(Auckland).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19481224.2.13.5
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 496, 24 December 1948, Page 5
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215"NEW ZILLAND" New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 496, 24 December 1948, Page 5
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