Evening star., 1944-06-16
Letters to The Star
Readers Reply to Question
About English Sounds
To the Editor of The Star:

In The Star for June IL Laura K.
Pollock wrote that British parents are
going into tailspins over the accents
with which their children are coming
home from America" and asked: Why
are the English so proud of the peculiar
way in which they handle soupds?"
The question the lady poses is prob
ably one that has occurred to many
persons all over the world for a long
long time, and a goodly number of them
have answered it for themselves to
their own satisfaction, I suppose. How
ever, in all fairness, think it best to
take the word of an Englishman on the
subject-he, certainly, should know
The eminent author, Robert Briffault,
who-though he has lived all over the
World-Was born in London of British
parents, contends that no Englishman
lis born with public school accent"
He says: English scholarship, ground
smooth in the mill of Renaissance gram
mar, Is at its best the most polished in
the world The misuse Of "a Greek
quantity ranks, in the light ofsits most
rigorous standards, as a major crime
sufficient to blast mans career and to
place him outside the pale of the re-
public of letters. On the other hand"
he continues, the pronunciation of any
'modern-and, for that matter, ancient
Language with a plausible and recog-
nizable accent is a scarcely less PARDON
able crime
This, it might seem, takes care only of
the accents of the aristocracy, but it also
explains, indirectly, the jargon of the
people"
What is accounted the national char
acter and a natural racial endowment of
a people is, in an overwhelming degree,
nodded by the pattern set by the ruling
class" according to Mr.. Briffault. THE
dingiest suburban gentility is a studied
imitation of Mayfair and Belgravia.
English manners, customs, conversation
and convictions are in decayed boarding
houses and in the shopmen's back parlor
patterned on those of the aristocratic
rulers of the country. The bedragged
female in the gin shop calls herself a
"loidy" and accounts it indispensable
to crown the edif1ce of her tattered rags
with a hat"
PHILIP LIGHTFOOT WORMELEY, w.
To the Editor of The Star:
Miss Pollock's letter would appear to
be the written expression of a hasty
thought which, improperly digested,
might stick in the mind of the reader
as an unpalatable example of ingrati-
tude on the part of our English allies
and cousins, the hospitability of whose
homes has been opened to our own
grown up) children, whereas nothing
is further from the truth.
Upon reflection, Miss Pollock will
agree that news stories often are spiced
and rightly so, by emphasis on one
small point or another to add piquancy
and flavor to mere facts. In this in
stance. 1t seems she found the spice
over-strong and the main flavor of the
dish has escaped her.
Apart from this 1t Is unlikely that a
poll was taken Of the thousands OF
parents concerned and what Is obvi-
ously minority expression might we'll
have been an avoidance of, or an in
ability to express adequately, the deep
feelings OF gratitude and thankfulness
felt by these people, or perhaps just a
new angle on their ability in the matter
of mastery understatement
In the matter of Miss Pollock's as
sumption of an English pride in the
way in which they handle sounds, it is
very obvious that she has overlooked
the basic fact that with these unfor-
tunate people grew the language from
which sprang the dialects such as Brook
lynese, the Texan drawl, and even the
one favored by Miss Pollock herself.
GENEVIEVE ALDER BRAMHAM.
To the Editor Of The Star:
Answering Miss Pollock. some of the
accents in the United States are ap-
palling, nasal to a degree. Not only that,
but we were brought up to believe that
slsngy terms were never in good taste,
such as, for example, the term that Miss
Pollock used in her letter-"ta tailspins :"
English people in good standing and
refinement do not use such and do not
want their children to use slang. A
ladylike person should never use it.
One cannot blame the English mothers
for being upset.
OF course, you in the United States
are brought up to use slang, but because
you think it all right to do so is no rea-
son why others should.
Give me correct English and good
grammar every time. Some Canadia
I am afraid, speak like United States
people. A CANADIAN.