ALISTAIR COOKE
This evening Mr. Alistair Cooke -will deal with the American speech that is heard everywhere in the talkies He^will try to clarify the history of American speech, showing why present- day Americans speak differently from present-day Englishmen.
In illustrating his talk he will show that there is not one American speech type, but over a score of types. For instance, if you want to hear true Shake- spearean English, you should go to Kentucky and listen to the moun- taineers. It was seventeenth-century English speech that went to America on the Mayflower, whereas we on the whole use the speech of the eighteenth century. Mr. Cooke will discuss American speech as used in the talkies, and show what each country misses by not understanding the other's idiom.
It adds interest to this talk that it is being taken by the National Broad- casting Company of America. At the conclusion, British listeners will hear five minutes of American speech records.