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Category Archives: Language

My thoughts on language and linguistics and the use of language in the media

January 23, 2020
by Graham
0 comments

What is Rudy Giuliani’s job?

Alec Bamford has reported: “Anyone with lingering doubts about the BBC’s blatant left-wing bias should have been listening to Gary O’Donoghue’s reporting on the impeachment story in the World News on the evening of 21 January. Before he corrected himself, … Continue reading →

Categories: Language | Tags: bbc, english, journalists, pronunciation, reporters, speech | Permalink

December 17, 2019
by Graham
4 Comments

Cheops

Cheops is the well-known name of the Egyptian Pharaoh whose tomb is the Great Pyramid at Gizeh. This is actually the Greek form of the name, and in modern times he has had his name ‘re-egyptianized’, if I may coin … Continue reading →

Categories: French, Greek, Language, Names | Tags: bbc, english, French, pronunciation, reporters, speech | Permalink

August 15, 2019
by Graham
15 Comments

Greta Thunberg

Since this teenager became world famous, I’ve heard her name pronounced in several ways by BBC journalists and announcers. I don’t know how she herself pronounces her name, as I’ve never heard her say it, and I’m no longer in … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Names | Tags: bbc, family name, journalists, pronunciation, reporters | Permalink

July 25, 2019
by Graham
6 Comments

Heatwave

As I sit sweltering in a heat of the high thirties Celsius, I’ve become very aware of the French word for heatwave – canicule. When a friend asked me its etymology, I turned to my trusty Larousse Dictionnaire étymologique. This … Continue reading →

Categories: French, Language | Tags: French, Italian | Permalink

April 5, 2019
by Graham
4 Comments

Hindemith and Violas

This is unusual – I’m not commenting on pronunciation or usage this time, but asking for help. I’ve been asked to provide a translation of the German-language instructions to performers for the programme of our local Music Club, where we … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Music | Tags: english, German, meaning, music | Permalink

February 4, 2019
by Graham
6 Comments

Slivers or Slithers

I wrote about the confusion between these two words three years ago (here). From the evidence we appear to be losing the word ‘sliver’ completely. I recently offered a slice of cake to a very well-educated person who wanted to … Continue reading →

Categories: Language | Tags: english, meaning, pronunciation, speech, spelling | Permalink

November 7, 2018
by Graham
2 Comments

Bellerophon

Until about two years ago, I had never heard any pronunciation for this Greek name other than that given by all the current English pronunciation dictionaries: /bəˈlerəfɒn/ (with allowances for varying qualities of unstressed vowels). Then I went to a … Continue reading →

Categories: Greek, Language, Names | Tags: english, pronunciation, speech, spelling | Permalink

October 31, 2018
by Graham
1 Comment

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha

The tragic events of last Saturday in Leicester, when the owner of Leicester City FC was killed in his helicopter shortly after taking off from the centre of the pitch following the match with West Ham United, have also highlighted … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Names | Tags: bbc, english, family name, journalists, pronunciation, radio 4, reporters, speech | Permalink

October 16, 2018
by Graham
15 Comments

Khashoggi

Until ten days or so ago, the only person with the name Khashoggi who was well-known was the rather dodgy Saudi Arabian businessman, Adnan Khashoggi, who according to Wikipedia was the brother of Mohamed Al-Fayed’s wife, and so uncle to … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Names | Tags: bbc, family name, journalists, pronunciation, radio 4, reporters | Permalink

July 14, 2018
by Graham
0 comments

Thai cave rescue – some language notes

My regular correspondent in Thailand has sent me the following, which includes IPA script. I hope that it doesn’t suffer the same fate as other of my posts, where the IPA has become corrupted over time. “Good old BBC. No … Continue reading →

Categories: General, Language, Names | Tags: bbc, culture, journalists, meaning, place names, pronunciation, speech | Permalink

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  • Accentism (3)
    • Sidney Wood: Graham, that’s a neater way of putting it. No deliberate decisions to change. And which direction...
    • Graham: Sidney – I can’t say that my accent is the same now as it was fifty five years ago, just before I...
    • Sidney Wood: Graham, regarding the last paragraph. In the 1950s as my national (military) service was coming to an...
  • How do you pronounce ‘GH’? (2)
    • Graham: Good point! I wasn’t considering such compounds.
    • Laura Nass: also “stronghold” and “bighearted”
  • Slivers or Slithers (6)
    • Graham: Mink – I’m sure you’re right. Your phrase “phonetic overgeneralisation” is what...
    • Mink Schapper: I have been wondering whether the sliver / slither convergence is a phonetic overgeneralisation of...
  • B(e)aring all (2)
    • Graham: Paul – I did have my suspicions, but didn’t like to ask the young lady who answered the door...
    • Paul Hopkins: Also “Before they will allow you…”. Possibly the writer’s first language...
  • Regionalisms (13)
    • Graham: Malc – You have a far more optimistic view of the sophistication of the 19th century urban population...
    • Malc: Graham, Coventry schools, in the 1940s, taught us, that Britain’s prevailing wind is typically from the...
    • Graham: Malc – That’s an interesting hypothesis, but I’m not sure that the working classes of the...
  • Buttigieg (3)
    • Graham: Bernard Shaw (and before him, Oscar Wilde) once said that the UK and the USA were two countries divided by a...
    • Larry: “…but because despite Americans’ well-known difficulty with languages other than English (some...
  • Apostrophes (3)
    • Gordon Mylam: As I had been losing sleep, thinking about whether Potters Bar should be Potter’s Bar or...

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