Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 164, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1911 — Our Pronunciation Is Bad [ARTICLE]

Our Pronunciation Is Bad

London Elocution Teacher Especially Complains of Nasal Twang of the American Women. London.—English teachers of elocution are shocked by the American pronunciation of English. One of the cult, speaking to an English newspaper reporter, said: “To cure the American nasal twang completely after it has become habitual is impossible. That curious rising inflection to nearly every word which is characteristic of Americans from the northern states and is of Indian •origin, may be modified. But the hardest part of my task with American women is to to speak more softly. Their high-pitched voices are not welcome in European

drawing rooms, and I find the best method is to keep them whispering for ten minutes together.** It appears that Americans emphasize the Saint in Saint Paul too much, say “I guess’* and Indulge in slang which is incomprehensible to the keen English intellect So when you" come over here don’t forget that the American “lobster” in England is a “silly awss,” that “hot air** is translated into “bally rot,” and that instead of saying “Here’s luck,” it is your duty to shout “Cheer oh." If you wish to inform your English friends that you are in business for yourself, tell them that you are “on your own,” and in explaining to him that the - food at yous hotel is excellent, don’t forget to .say “They do me very well at the Savoy.” If you will take these substitutions, call casual acquaintances “dear old chaps” and refrain from boasting, which in this country is termed “swanking,” you may be able to get along, but you will still have to pay American prices in the shops. However, cheer up, the worst is still to come. Our English elocutionist concludes his criticism with this: “One of the most irritating accent* of all 1* the Canadian, which is the nearest thing there is to utter negation of accent There are types of Canadians who talk very fast and very insistently on one monotonous note, which to a sensitive ear is simply maddening.”