OUR LANGUAGE AXi) TliJ': XATIVl': I'UJ'IL. 4/1 



instruclii)n in l-^nglish i:raniniar. h is not clear, for example, 

 what purpose is served by teaching natives the details of par- 

 sing', the kinds of i)r()nouns, the sexen different uses of the 

 objective case, etc. It would >cem far more effectixe to use this 

 time for drill in correct usage and pronounciati(m. The gram- 

 mar usually taught is notorious for not ha\iiig an\- effect in 

 preventing errors in speech and writing. 



The following tentative outline for instruction in grammar 

 is based on a short survey to show what parts of grammar have 

 actually been useful to the students at Anianzimtoti in the last 

 year and a half. 



1. Drill on the conjugation of the verb. The progres- 

 sive and emphatic forms should be omitted because they 

 are abused if known. 



2. Drill in simple analysis of sentences. 



3. Practice in recognizinig clauses and their uses. Much 

 practice in writing sentences with given kinds of clauses 

 in conversion of sentences. 



4. Practice in the use of the difficult pronouns: relative 

 and interogative. 



5. Thorough drill in punctuation. 



6. The sequence of tenses, with much drill in indirect 

 discourse. Indirect (|uestions must be thc^roughly taught. 



7. Drill in correct uses of pre]>ositions. 



Finall}'. I W'ish to revert to the matter of pronunciation. 

 At -Vmanzimtoti there are English, Sct)tch, American, Dutch, 

 and Colonial members of the teaching staff'. To prevent the 

 studeTits from acquiring from any of us peculiarities of speech 

 not correct in this country, we have given special attention to 

 instruction in pronunciation. 



We found it necessary to drill extensively on all the short 

 vowels, and on a few commoii words such as " a," " the," " of," 

 which were made so long by the students that they were nearly 

 unrecognizable. We found extensive drill necessary on the 

 vowel-sound in bird, church. The students seemed totally unable 

 to get this sound until we told them to " stick out their lips like 

 Hottentots." The sound of ch was the only difficult consonant. 

 We exaggerated each point slightly ; after the inevitable slipping- 

 back. we secured correct i>ronunciation. 



I wish to urge on all who educate iiatives the necessity of 

 teaching pronunciation mo.st careifully and systematically. 



{Read, July 3, lyi/.) 



Grey College Herbarium.— Mr. J. Burtt-Davy 

 ]X)ints out that in his presidential address before Section C, at the 

 Stellenbosch meeting,* he omitted to mention the herbarium of 

 plants oif the Orange Free State, de}xisited at the Grey Univer- 

 sity College, Bloemfontein. This herbarium contains .some 3.000 

 sheets. 



* Sec this volume. ))p. 64-82. 



