NEW ZEALAND ACCENT
Sir,-If the written accent was always an’ indication of the spoken accent I would not hesitate before deciding in which class to place J.S. (Listener, September 24). I find his frantic and missionary letter difficult to consider friendly. I am a gold miner who believes in the pot full at the end of the rainbow, and the right to pick and choose. I am also a Red Indian brave, who has danced on his own reserve for some time, prepared to pin him with an arrow, — Possibly, it is desirable to create a host of airy tone deaf-o-dills; namely, radio announcers-similarity in pronunciation gives the security of anonymity -but the impossible suggestion that variation in the diction of the people is undesirable, is like wiping dirty hands on a clean towel, or asking the leopard to change its spots. There is no one best species. I cannot guess the hidden meaning of the handicap referred to in the letter. It is my opinion that if a man believes in his tone of voice, the accent will look after itself. ry
S. J.
NICHOLSON
(Matamata).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19541112.2.9.10
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 799, 12 November 1954, Page 5
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187NEW ZEALAND ACCENT New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 799, 12 November 1954, Page 5
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