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Tag Archives: journalists

March 24, 2016
by gpointon
0 comments

Return to Bosnia

The wheels of international justice grind exceeding slow, and eight years after his arrest, Radovan Karadzić is eventually being sentenced today. I commented in 2008 (here) on the confusion between at least two pronunciations of his family name, and it … Continue reading →

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

March 3, 2016
by gpointon
2 Comments

Amiens

A Franco-British summit is being held in Amiens today. The name is pronounced in French /amjɛ̃/, which is often misinterpreted in English as /ˈæmiɑ̃ː/. The BBC’s recommendation is the closer /æmˈjæ̃/. Chris Aldridge, Radio 4’s Chief Announcer, had obviously not … Continue reading →

Categories: French, Language, Names | Tags: bbc, journalists, place names, pronunciation, radio 4, reporters | Permalink

September 12, 2015
by gpointon
4 Comments

Wounds and injuries

What is the difference between a wound and an injury? In general, I would say that an injury is something that a person suffers as a result of an accident, while a wound is something that is inflicted by an … Continue reading →

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

September 23, 2014
by gpointon
3 Comments

How Dutch is Louis van Gaal?

Yesterday morning the Radio 4 Today programme wasted several minutes of valuable airtime discussing the pronunciation of Manchester United’s manager’s name. The editors no doubt see this as “good broadcasting”, but when you consider that most items are cut short … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Names | Tags: bbc, journalists, pronunciation, radio 4, speech | Permalink

August 11, 2014
by gpointon
4 Comments

Confusing place names

We’re used, in the British Isles, to place names that have more than one pronunciation – Shrewsbury (/ˈʃrəʊzbÉ™ri/~/ˈʃruːzbÉ™ri/) is probably the best known, although those with long memories will recall that there was a veiled threat to my position over … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Names | Tags: journalists, place names, pronunciation, speech, spelling | Permalink

March 3, 2013
by Graham
7 Comments

Multilingual education and prejudice

Almost all the British papers have carried the story this week that Gladstone Primary School in Peterborough has not a single native English speaking pupil out of 450. Predictably the story as run by the Daily Mail and the Daily … Continue reading →

Categories: Language | Tags: dialect, journalists | Permalink

February 27, 2013
by Graham
4 Comments

Genealogy

A headline in the Daily Mail reads “Richard III’s ancestors demand a York burial”. Really? How have they got in touch? Through a ouija board? The article begins “The living descendants of King Richard III have joined the campaign to … Continue reading →

Categories: Genealogy, Language | Tags: english, journalists | Permalink

September 8, 2012
by Graham
6 Comments

Annecy

The awful events near Lake Annecy have brought this place name into prominence. At first sight it is a straightforward French name, with no problem for people needing to pronounce it, such as British radio and TV newsreaders and journalists, … Continue reading →

Categories: French, Language | Tags: bbc, english, journalists, place names, pronunciation | Permalink

November 11, 2011
by Graham
1 Comment

Clever Scientists

A report on BBC’s regional news programme for East Anglia yesterday evening (10 November 2011), and unfortunately not available for watching again after 6 o’clock GMT on 11 November (so you can’t check what I’m about to say after that … Continue reading →

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

February 21, 2011
by Graham
3 Comments

Bahrain

Eric Hayman has commented that BBC newsreaders and journalists are vacillating between /bɑːˈhreɪn/ (where /h/ may represent either a glottal fricative or a velar fricative) and /bɑːˈreɪn/, leaving the orthographic ‘h’ unpronounced. I cannot believe that the Pronunciation Unit has … Continue reading →

Categories: Language, Names | Tags: bbc, journalists, place names, pronunciation | Permalink

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