Letters, Dec. 6, 1937

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Government

Sirs: Let Subscriber Strong* (TIME, Nov. 15) see her local radio service man, her set needs attention. Tonight's, Nov. 14, chat included several distinct "gover-n-ments." Or does Firesider Roosevelt read TIME?

JOSEPH F. DUNN

Champaign, Ill.

Franklin D. Roosevelt receives TIME each week. — ED.

No Civil War

Sirs:

You'll pardon me, but I think I can make a point concerning your comments and your readers' comments on errors in pronunciation as perpetrated over the radio by certain prominent speakers. I doubt that there is any such thing as perfect speech. There are dialects, tones of voice, inflections and peculiarities characteristic of the inhabitants of various sections of the country. The so-called American language is a conglomeration of these various speeches and accepted usage is often a matter of locality. . . .

Besides, the slip of the tongue is to the radio broadcast as the typographical error is to the printed page. To paraphrase, it is hard to teach an old speechmaker new verbal tricks, or to accustom him to an accepted pronunciation when he has been in the habit of using another. And as the radio magnifies so many things, it magnifies these mistakes. Some peculiarities in the mouths of celebrated persons have become so famous that the speaker dare not change them without risking the charge of affectation. In this connection, a famous speaker whose "raddio" was a standing subject for witticism, forgot himself (unless my ears and memory have deceived me) and in the heat of a campaign address employed the correct pronunciation. But only momentarily. On the other hand, too close attention to details of pronunciation might have a tendency to detract from the speaker's effectiveness.

While a New Yorker's "thoity-thoid street" grates on certain sensitive ears, so does a Southerner's "Ah" for "I." So, let's call the whole thing off. . . . Let the New Englander retain his nasal twang; it adds flavor and color. Let us not have a Civil War about it.

R. C. O'BRIEN

New York City

Ernest

Sirs:

I have numerous dogs and one of them is called Ernest, for the Hemingway whom you so laud.

He is so called because, while he is surprisingly intelligent in all other ways, he is not completely housebroken.

L. H. FRENCH

Hidden Valley

Camarillo, Calif.

M-G-M Without Goldwyn

Sirs:

Did not TIME err in saying that Samuel Goldwyn was never associated with M-G-M (TIME, Nov. 15, p. 42) ? According to The Great Goldwyn by Alva Johnston, Goldwyn was once a part of MGM. Evidently this must be correct for rumor has it that Goldwyn bought 5,000 copies [of this book] for his own use.

If TIME is correct my sincere apologies for wrongly accusing, but will TIME explain the Goldwyn name appearing in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer?

JOHN J. BENCH

Denver, Colo.

Samuel Goldwyn according to his own office was never connected with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The "Goldwyn" in M-G-M is his original Goldwyn Pictures Corp. which merged with Metro and Mayer in 1924, two years after Sam Goldwyn himself had left it. Alva Johnston's account does not directly contradict this fact.—ED.

Bremen to England

Sirs: