Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-31
ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION.
Fashions Change With the Times,
Even in the Best Usages.
From the London Standard.

FROM the London STANDARD.
"Changes in the Pronunciation of Eng
lish" is the subject of very interesting
article by Mr.. C. L. Eastlake in the new
number of the Nineteenth Century. He
points out that many of the alterations
which have taken place within the last two
centuries have been due to either careless
ness or affectation, while. in other cases
what would now be thought vulgarities
may only be survivals of an older pro-
nunciation. which was at one time in use
among the best bred and best educated
people. By way of Illustration he refers to
Thackeray's ridicule of Anglo-French pro-
nunciation, yet there are French dctIon-
aries, published not long ago, in which
"angfang" and "maintenong' are printed
as the phonetic equivalent Of "entin'' and
'maintenant" for the information of Brit
.sh students. 1T is suggested that in these
as we know was the case in other words,
such as ''besoin and "loin"-the appar-
emily redundant 'g is but a survival Of
old-world speech. What is usually thought
ridiculous ignorance, therefore, may not
have always been so incorrect 1t sounds
to modern ears" Similarly, If a foreigner
or anybody else. were to state, In 4 modern
drawing room, that he had seen "a dook'
last "Toosday,' 1t would be thought bar
barous; yet less than a hundred years ago
the words would have been SO pronounced
In the best society.
Capt. MacMurdo of the Life Guards calls
word used by Pope, which we never hear
now, fingered on till past the middle CT
the last century. Earl Russell, the IA
nous statesman, always spoke of being
"obleeged." Pope, too, makes Rome rhyme
with doom, mead with shade, join with line
and obey with tea. Now, Mr.. Eastlake
rightly infers that these words in the Au-
GUSTAV age were pronounced as the rhyme
here seem to require. OF some poets it
might be said that in such couplets
these they were only awaiting themselves Of
poetic license. But this would not apply to
author who prided himself, above all
things, on his correctness. How, then, have
such changes been brought about? AXE
Mr. EaStlake informs US, was the original
form of ask. and ''enow' Of enough. These
words still survive among the peasantry;
and in DevonShire-and not there oaly-tiiey
still talk of "a dish of tay." But when did
"enow" become "enuff?" For a long time
they were both used together, ''enow," ac-
cording to Johnson, being simply Inc plural
of enough, and used in that sense by Addi-
son. We find enough and not 'euow" In
the famous old drinking song, Il cannot eat
but little meat, dating from the sixteenth
century.
Readers of Pickwick will be interested to
hear that Mr.. Eastlake has made a study
of the conSonantS w. and w." and the
cause of that misuse of them which is made
so amusing in that immortal work. One
theory Is that it is traceable to the foreign
silk weavers VINO. after the Edict Nantes,
settled in Spitalie!ds. and not being able to
adopt Mr.. Wells pronunciation of tnat Gen.
sonant-and that the fashion gradually PR
meated the whole realm of Cocllreydou.
We are not sure, however, that the old gen.
tleman himself would have regarded this
explanation very favorably. He was proud
of his family letter. and likely to be in
dignant at hearing it traced to the natives
of a country where there Wee no long
stage coachmen. Mr.. Eastlake is rather
hard on modern English pronunciation even
in the highest circles. The clipping of the
final was once regarded as an mex
piable sin. A few years ago 1t became the
mode to speak Of "puddin'' AMI 'mornin'
and "huntin."
while with the West Country yeoman his
parents are still "fathur' and "mothur."
retaining the original value of the final "r,"
in London they would be "fathah'' and
"mothah," where also a good fellow is a
good fellah." We rather doubt this state
ment. Father and mother. at all events,
are usually pronounced as they are spelled,
and the final syllable is generally audible in
the mouths Of educated persons. With the
writer's denunciation Of modern slang, now
ever, we heartily sympathize. In The Book
Of Snobs" the East India director who
dimes with Raymond Gray on a mutton chop
and a bottle OF old port is obliged to con-
fess that he has had a 'mons'rous good
guage Of the day. would be "awfly jolly"
OF the two styles. we are inclined to prefer
the former. But we given to under
stand that'"jolly" has had its day and will
soon be altogether superseded. The adverb,
however. retains its place. and IL strong
contrasts are required, as they seem to be,
by modern slang, 1t Is not likely to lose 1t.