Practicing Diction

RC, the southern belle who works in my office is going to read a sonnet by Shakespeare for her goddaughter's wedding in New York next month. She lamented, "No one will uhndastand a whord I say," and then read the sonnet with hard "r's" like a Northerner.

While we were walking outside today, I heard her mumbling something. When I asked about it, she said, "Whan that Aprille..." and went on with the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales. Now, we all know that Lyssie is an expert at Middle English (I forgot which post that was...), but I was surprised that RC turned to Chaucer to practice her diction. She told me that she had to memorize the Prologue in school. I told her I did too.

Of course she printed out the whole thing for us to practice together.