PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION' J. 639 



4. Quality of Voice, variations of which may be the result 



of climate or nationality, as, for instance, in the soft 

 speech of Devon, and the burr of Northumberland. 



5. The Individual Word. — Mispronunciation of words is a 



most easily corrected fault. Mispronunciation has 

 been in part due to the decay of classical education. 



There is no absolute standard of pronunciation, but there is a 

 generally admitted one — a pronunciation in which all marks of the 

 particular place of birth and residence are lost, and nothing ap- 

 pears to indicate any other habits of intercourse than with the 

 well-bred and well-informed wherever they may be found. 



The difficulties to be overcome in reaching tliis standard are due 

 to ignorance and indifference, slovenliness and idleness, and the 

 laws of phonetic decay which affect all languages. 



The propositions indorsed by the London Conference were as 

 follows : — 



1. That the correct pronunciation of English as the medium 



of the Empire is extremely important. 



2. That the teaching of such pronunciation is at present 



almost entirely neglected. 



3. That the first step towards reform is to train the t-eachera 



of English on sound phonetic principles. 



4. That all other means of securing an approximation to 



uniform px'onunciatiou should be adopted. 



In Australia, there is no dialect, but only accent, and most 

 faults are due to laziness leading to the clipping of words, the slur- 

 ring and mispronunciation of vowel sounds, and the tendency to 

 drawl. 



Our teachers must be trained, not in " elocution," but in the 

 theory and practice of pronunciation on a phonetic basis. 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF PEACE. 

 By P. B. Cole, Ph.D. 



9. MENTALLY DEPICIEI^T CHILDREN. 



By Miss Harriet Neucomh. 



