The Oldie

How to talk proper

How has pronunciation and speaking in general changed over the last few years?

Let me start with a question. Do you pronounce the h in when or what or which? I do. I’m in my early sixties and I’m an elocution teacher. When I was ten, I was taught to pronounce the h. I do not, though, ask my pupils to do so. Language lives and alters – not necessarily for the better, but it does change.

Don’t get me wrong.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Oldie

The Oldie3 min read
Children Behaving Badly? It's Naughty But Nice
I have a new hobby, which is in danger of becoming an addiction. It was passed on to me by a colleague of whom I am rather in awe. She is young enough to be my daughter. Well, most of the department has that distinction nowadays. But it is glorious i
The Oldie2 min read
Olden Life
The first book to be bound in book cloth was issued in 1823 by the bookbinder Archibald Leighton. But it was not until another Archibald, the Manchester cloth and cotton merchant Archibald Winterbottom, started his own company in 1853 that the book-c
The Oldie2 min read
The Olympic Modesty Champion
My New Year's Resolution? I must not show off. Join me? ‘Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it for a crown that will last for ever.’ (1 Corinthians 9:25) St Paul was n

Related Books & Audiobooks