Radio Peril

In this great day of sophistication, none but a zany would say, "I know it's right because I read it in the newspapers!" The journalist's addiction to bloomers in spelling, grammar and fact have cost him not a little prestige. But radio is a new estate, and hence marvelous, and hence infallible. Moreover, its technicians are masters of such a mystery that it seems, to what Editor Arthur Brisbane calls the public's "tired brain or lack of brain," that they must surely be past masters at such child's play as correct speech. He would not be counted a zany by his fellows who should cry, "I know it's right; I heard it on my radio."

England has faced this fact, and the perils arising from it, with high resolve. Last week the careful Christian Science Monitor reported the appointment of a committee for the linguistic instruction of speakers in: the British Broadcasting Co. Poet Laureate Robert Bridges, Dramatist G. B. Shaw, Actor Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Professor Daniel Jones of London University, one L. P. Smith of the Society for Pure English, and Lecturer Lloyd James were the gentlemen selected to see that Britons should not, through hardening to voices in the air, fall into such malaproprieties as saying "acow-sticks" for "acoustics" "despick'-able" for "des'picable," "gu-raghe" for "ga'rage" "lie'aizon," "for leeay'zon" revelant" for "relevant" "Balon'ie" for "Bouloan' " (Boulogne), "charrabanks" for "sharabang" (as the British doggedly pronounce the French char-`a-bancs).

Thought U. S. purists, now is the time to elect a Proper Pronunciation Commission in this country, to persuade U. S. radiannouncers not to call a "suite" (of rooms or furniture) a "suit," a "coupe" (small closed car) a "coop," a "radiator" a "raddiator,"or radio"raddio" not to say "worshing" (a Pittsburghism) for "washing," "kewpon" for "coupon" "kaif" for "cafe," "pitcher" for "picture," "umbrella," "athaletic," 'fillum" and "I-ow'a" for their comparatively manageable originals.