Story: Speech and accent

Arnold Wall

Arnold Wall was a literary scholar at the University of Canterbury. After his retirement in 1932 he wrote a series of columns titled 'Our mother tongue' for the Press newspaper. Wall was highly critical of New Zealand pronunciation in these columns and in his book New Zealand English (1938). Later scholars were careful not to judge New Zealand pronunciation – they had an objective interest in the origins of New Zealand speech and how it evolved. Wall himself even moderated his stance and later repositioned himself as an non-judgmental recorder. Listen to some observations about New Zealand pronunciations which he recorded in 1951.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, New Zealand Free Lance Collection (PAColl-0785)
Reference: 1/2-104178; F
Photograph by William George Weigel

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Sound file from Radio New Zealand Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero. Any re-use of this audio is a breach of copyright. To request a copy of the recording, contact Sound Archives Ngā Taonga Kōrero (Arnold Wall, 1951/Reference ID31477)

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How to cite this page:

Elizabeth Gordon, 'Speech and accent - Explanations of New Zealand speech', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/speech/40125/arnold-wall (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Elizabeth Gordon, published 5 Sep 2013