366 i'RONL'XC lATlON OF liNGLISH. 



lay most stress in tliis paper, vie. upon {a) intonation, [bj 

 liaison, (f) speed of utterance, (d) quality of voice. 



Intonation. — Professor Wyld. of Liverpool, one of the 

 few writers who deal with Pronunciation at all fully, well says 

 in his Historical Study of the Mother Tongue : — 



" IntiMiation is the most difficult element in pronunciation to describe 

 or to acquire. Vulgar speakers often affect the frequent use of compound 

 tones to express persuasiveness, self-confidence, or good-natured cunniivj; 

 and sagacity. Good speakers avoid this means for the expression of these 

 emotions, or use it very sparingly. The exaggerated use of the compound 

 tones suggests impertinent familiarity. The Scotch peculiarity of finishing 

 a sentence with a rising tone suggests querulousness, or cavilling, to 

 English ears." 



In South Africa there is a tendency on the part of the Dutch 

 speakers of English to avoid any rise or fall of the voice, and 

 the result is a sad monotony. Tn connection with this subject I 

 should like to point out how important it is in a bilingual part of 

 the Empire that Colloquial English no less than T^iterary English 

 should be taught in schools, for it is only through the former 

 that correct intonation can be properly learnt. 



Nasalisation is a general tendency in new countries, and 

 there is no satisfactory explanation to be found why this is so. 

 Even South African Dutch has become nasalised as compared 

 with the Dutch of Holland. 



Liaison. — The proper transition from one word to another 

 is also something rarely emphasised in text-books, and unlike the 

 case of the single word, the Pronouncing Dictionary is of little 

 help here. In South Africa and, I believe, more and more in 

 the United States the neglect of this a.spect of pronunciation is 

 resulting in the mutilation of words by erosion of their final 

 syllables. In South Africa there is a marked tendency to end a 

 word in a sentence with an explosion instead of with an easy 

 glide on to the next word. 



Si'Ki'iD OF L'TTKRANCK. — There is a great difiference l)etween 

 the lazy drawl of a northern dialect or of an attected fop and 

 the orthodox speed of Standard English, though, of course, even 

 in Standard English the speed depends largely on the nature of 

 the case, i.e., whether, e.g.. public speaking, litm-gical worship, 

 stage declamation, or colloquial use. This variety of speed 

 according to conditions is in itself a proof of the very complicated 

 nature of correct pronunciation, therefore of the need for its 

 being correctly taught. 



Ou.\LiTV ov \'oirR. — There seems to be in South Africa a 

 certain timbre or quality of voice commonly heard, especially of 

 the male voice, which would enable a careful observer to label 

 the speaker as a South African. There is a lack of richness or 

 body or resonance in the voice, probably due to influence of 

 climate. Whether such local defects can be remedied by training 

 or not I cannot say. 



Thf: Importancf: of Correct Pronunciation. — In addi- 

 tion to the important fact that Standard English is more 



