Evening star., 1933-06-17
with indignation and resentment II hi
pronunciation Is questioned. sss

Because Of some unloveiy defect In
speech, some racial popularity Of ut
| terance, some vulgarisms of which they
may not even be aware, otherwise
worthy members Of society, fine char.
acters and efficient workers, frequently
find the doors Of opportunity and ad-
vancement closed. The spoken word
may weave spell of enchantment OF
cast blight of gloom; it Is thus the
giver Of life or the bearer of woe.
In other words, good speech" is q
cultural asset, and individuals who
lack it are sensitive on the subject.
The schools exist to promote cultural
welfare, and DR.. O'Shea therefore very
properly insists that they shall be
mindful Of their responsibility for. the
elevation of prevailing standards Of
conversational exchange. "Our schools, "
he submits, must bend their efforts to
eradicating the hampering limitations
imposed upon the individual by poor
speech" There can be no quarrel with
that sentiment, but, unfortunately, the
schools themselves must be prepared
for the discharge Of their duty in this
regard; within DR.. O'Sheas own es-
taolishment In New York there are
teachers who themselves are guilty of
defective English. How keenly he
realizes this Is manifested in his
thought:
1t Is the duty Of all teachers to
analyze their own speech patterns, be-
cause . pupils speech is often matter
OF blind imitation and the example Of
the teacher may prompt him to copy
her. A teacher must know whether she
Is using strong and weak forms accord
ing to usage, or whether her speech Is
oyerprecise. We carefully safeguard
our pupils against the imposition of the
personal views Of the teacher on re-
ligion, politics and economies. Have
pupils not the right to be protected
from peculiarities Of the teachers
Only q teacher familiar with at least
the fundamental principles of phonetics
can analyzc her own speech to deter
mine its characteristics, and only in the
light OF such knowledge will the teacher
be able to determine whether her model
H safe one to be followed.
The ideal type Of teacher Is rare.
Probably not one in q dozen is compe-
tent to speak correctly or to instruct
others in the art. But the school phase
Of the problem is only single angle
Of it. The children are Influenced by
other persons than their teachers and
by other institutions than their class
rooms. The movies and the radio, OBJ
viously, have dictatorial power over
common language, and much of the
slang which is SO common among both
children and adults may be traced back
to either or both Of these new mediums
Of education" theoretically, their
effect should be good; In point of fact,
it has not been SO. Both have stopped
to what their managers imagine to be
what the people want" Both have
compromised. Both have poured oceans
Of bad English" into the popular mind.
The home, too Is not above criticism.
Children reproduce the conversational
technique Of their parents. If the latter
speak correctly, the task Of the school
is made easier, perhaps even eliminated.
II they are devoted to smart" man
nerisms Of utterance, wise cracks" and
funny talk" their progeny will initiate
them in those deplorable habits. The
average father and mother can afford
to be more careful. There Is room for
vast improvement in home customs of
speech.
Perhaps, since the problem is 70 gen.
eral, since so many factors are involved,
only a general correction can be effec-
tive. That means that every individual
must be consciously on guard to use the
English tongue properly. Dr.. o'shea is
. splendid mentor, and 1t may be hoped
that his appeal will arouse wide appre-
ctation and stimulate generous response.