Dear "Civis". Would you oblige your readers by giving an authoritative opinion upon the following?
I have, within the last 12 months, heard the word "recognise" pronounced "reconize" or "reckernize" by the following persons - A High School dux, who is also a B.A. and several other "things"; a King's Counsel (not necessarily of Dunedin); the wife of a stipendiary magistrate (ditto). Now, are these persons right, as one ought to expect them to be, or is my dictionary wrong?
The "g" is certainly sounded in the Latin and Greek words; why not in the English?
A Master of Arts, who is a prominent public speaker, frequently talks of "breadth and heighth," and actually argues that "by usage" it is correct. A professor, when addressing his audience, several times referred to the "Antartic" expedition; and on my asking another professor how a man of "many degrees" and one of our teachers, could possibly make such an error, he paralysed me by remarking quietly, "But it is Antartic, is it not?
" Words failed me. Please tell us why this is thus. Can we wonder that our younger generation mispronounce words such as "supple" and "collie" saying "soople" and "coollie," when our leaders of light and learning lead us so astray? - I am, etc.,
Cognosco.
Against men of light and leading when in this condemnation must be alleged defect of ear. Their case is that of the singer who doesn't know when he sings out of tune. A preacher well known in Dunedin used to say "lah" for "law" - the "lah of Moses." A dialectic peculiarity and of no consequence; but probably his own "law" and the "law" of other people sounded to himself identical. We have readers of "the dily piper" who suppose themselves to be reading like other folk the daily paper.
They never hear the difference. Now defect of ear in this form is defect of education. The offenders specified by my correspondent were not congenitally incompetent - predestinated to their ignominy. They had never been taught to listen with discrimination to the utterances of their own vocal organs. Schools and schoolmasters, right and left, lower and upper, have much to answer for.- Civis.
• At Riccarton, Christchurch, several people have discovered that the hedgehog is not at all a desirable visitor, and the animals are being killed whenever they are seen. One man, who had been blaming a weasel for slaughter among his poultry, discovered the real offender a few days ago. He was attracted to his hen run by a loud squawking among the fowls, and he found a hedgehog gnawing at the leg of a hen that was held down by the animal.
He at once killed the hedgehog, which was a particularly large specimen. The same morning another resident discovered that 18 chickens had been killed in his fowlrun, and on the same night he caught a hedgehog making its way in the run. Again the animal was large in size, and again the execution of the marauder was speedily effected. Another resident of Upper Riccarton has stated that he found a hedgehog taking milk from his cows as they were lying in the paddocks. The discoveries have caused considerable surprise among the victimised people, by whom the hedgehog was regarded as a harmless animal, and a friend, rather than a bloodthirsty thief.
• A small whale, measuring 18ft 3in in length, was found partially stranded on the flats near Teddington, Lyttelton Harbour, on Friday. It was alive when discovered, but was harpooned and towed to Lyttelton. - ODT, 30.3.1912.
