Page:Transactions NZ Institute Volume 18.djvu/78

48 corn fodder of South Africa is spelt mealies, although not ground into meal, and milis would be the correct term. Various plants pass under the name of tea tree, including the ti (Cordyline australis) of New Zealand. The name of the old town of Aymouth is changed to Eyemouth, and Tung we find as Tongue. The euphonious name of the Pass of Branda is changed into Brander, giving one a suspicion of cooking. The names of the Irish towns, Tallogh and Mallogh, are changed into Tallow and Mallow from the dropping of the gutteral; but why not Tallo and Mallo. The w is of no use, but vulgarises the names by suggesting common articles. In Stanley's work, "How I found Livingstone," I find the word Seedy for Sidi, the name of a very useful tribe of negroes, many of the race being employed as firemen in the P. and O. steamers. There is no reason to suppose that they are of drunken habits, but the English spelling conveys that idea.

It was curious at the time of the war in Afghanistan to see the puzzle of the London newspapers, as to the spelling the name of the ruler of that State. His right name being Shir Ali, had been Frenchified into Shere Ali; and when a fort had to be named after him, instead of reverting to the correct name of Shir, they made the name Sherpur, "the town or fort of Shir Ali." A man must be very vowel deaf indeed who cannot see that this must alter the whole sound of the word.

Various attempts are now being made to reform the orthography of the English language by the Americans, and by the Spelling Reform Association and others in England.

In neither case are the results scientific or satisfactory.

The Americans seem to think that the main point to be attained lies in shortening the words, by omitting unnecessary consonants; the English by stereotyping existing sounds.

The English and American ears have become in a manner deaf to the true value of the vowel sounds, and require preliminary instruction before undertaking the reform.

Thus, by the American plan, by leaving out one l in such words as spelling, shilling, willing, &c, we should soon, with the defective ear, get to the following changes in pronunciation, viz:—speling, spieling; shilling, shailing; willing, wailing. Another American change is spelling plough as plow, which is nonphonetic and objectionable; ow is a barbarous way of rendering what can be better done by au; besides which it is discredited for the purpose, as we have bow = bau and bo; row = rau and ro; stow = sto, &c.

So much for American innovations. The English idea seems to be to stereotype all the defective sounds at present existing, and apparently in the interests of the South of England and the Cockney dialect, ignoring the North. Thus we should soon lose the broad a and the sound of the letter r. A notable instance of