The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1903-04-14
ENGLISH PRoNoUNCIATIoN.
Fashions Change With the Times,
Even in the Best Usages.

FaShlOnS Change with tne llDIeS'
Even in the Best Usages
Changes in the Pronunciation of
English" is the subject of very inter-
esting article by G.. L. EaStlake in
the new number of the Nineteenth Cen
fury He points out that many of the
alterations which have taken place
within the last two centuries have been
due to either carelcssness or affecta5Ion
while, in other cases what would now
be thought vugarities may only be
survivals of an older pronunciation,
which was at one time in use among
the best bred and best educa ESA people.
by way of Illustration he refers TO
Thackerdy's ridicule of AnglO-French
pronunciation, yet there are French
dictionaries, published not long ago, in
which "angfang' and "maintenong"
are printed as the phonetic equivalent
of "enfn" and maintenance, for the
information of British students. 1t is
suggested that in these-as we know
was the case in other words, such as
"besoin" and "loin" the apparently re-
dundant "g' is but a survival of old
world speech. What is usually thought
ridiculous ignorance, therefore, may
not have always been so incorrect as it
sounds to modern ears" Similarly, If
a foreigner or anybody eke were to
he had seen "a dock" last "Toosday,"
it would be thought barbarous; yet
less than hundred years ago the
words would have been so pronounced
in the best society.
Capt. MacMurdo of the Life Guards
calls Rawdon Crawley "Old StOopid."
Another word used by Pope, which, we
never near now, fingered on till past
the middle of the last century Earl
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 Angus
tan age were pronounced as the rhyme
here seem to require. OF some poets II
might be said that in such couplets az
these they were only awaiting them
selves of poetic license. But this would
not apply to an author who prided
himself, above all things, on his COR
RICHNESS. How, then, have such chan
ges 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 only-they still talk of "a dish Of
tay" But when did "enow" become
"enuff?" For long time they were
both used together, "enow," according
to Johnson, being simply the plural OF
enough, and used in that sense by Ad-
olson We find enough" and not
"enOw" in the famous old drinking
song, 81 cannot eat but little meat"
dating from the sixteenth century.
Readers of Pickwick will be interest
ed 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 i'm
mortal work. One theory is that it is
traceable to the foreign silk Weavers
who after the Edict of Nantes. settled
in Spitalfelds. and not being able to
pronounce the "W'' WJre constrained TO
adopt Mr.. Weller's pronunciation OF that
consonant-and that the fashion grad
ually permeated the whole realm of
Cockneydom. We are not sure, how
ever, that the old gentleman himself
would have regarded this explanation
very faN orably. He was proud OF his
family letter." and likely to be indig-
nant AT hearing it traced to the ma
tives of a country where there were no
longstage coachmen. Mr. Eastlake is
rather hard on modern English pro-
annexation even in the highest circles.
The clipping of the final 'g'' was once
regarded as an incapable sin. A few
years ago It became the mode to speak
of "puddin" and "mornin' and hunt
in"
We are also requested to observe that
while with the West Country yeuInan
his parents are still "fathur" anu
"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