September 23, 2014
by gpointon
3 Comments
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
August 11, 2014
by gpointon
1 Comment
In this centenary year of the outbreak of the First World War, it seems incredible that a Memorial should be in danger of destruction, but that is what is happening in Stoke on Trent, where one of the six historic … Continue reading
August 11, 2014
by gpointon
4 Comments
We’re used, in the British Isles, to place names that have more than one pronunciation – Shrewsbury (/ˈʃrəʊzbÉ™ri/~/ˈʃruËzbÉ™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
July 19, 2014
by gpointon
2 Comments
I don’t usually watch or listen to the First Night of the Proms, but as yesterday evening’s concert was Elgar’s “The Kingdom”, an oratorio I have never heard, I decided to make an exception. Part way through, when the disciples … Continue reading
May 5, 2014
by gpointon
4 Comments
I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a long stretch of a genuine Potteries accent on Radio 4 before this – usually actors are attempting it from some other starting point, but here is the Real Thing, in a short … Continue reading
February 22, 2014
by Graham
17 Comments
The present upheavals in Ukraine bring the pronunciation of its place names into prominence. Even the country’s name is now subtly different from what it was thirty years ago. Then the geographical area was always called “The Ukraine”, which was … Continue reading
December 8, 2013
by Graham
3 Comments
These are two villages in Hertfordshire. Welwyn /ˈwɛlɪn/ is better known these days for Welwyn Garden City, founded by Ebenezer Howard, but somewhat later than Letchworth Garden City (the world’s first garden city), and which is situated a couple of … Continue reading
December 1, 2013
by Graham
0 comments
According to the OED’s examples, Lewis Carroll may have invented the use of ‘portmanteau’ to mean a word made up of the elements of two or more other words in order to somehow combine their meanings: in Through the Looking-glass, … Continue reading
November 17, 2013
by Graham
7 Comments
It’s over a week since the appalling typhoon hit the Philippines and I’m still unsure what the “official” BBC pronunciation of these names is. Most broadcasters are calling the typhoon itself /ˈhaiˈjæn/ or /ˈhaiˈæn/, but Radio 4 newsreaders appear to … Continue reading
November 3, 2013
by Graham
5 Comments
This post may be something of a disappointment to anyone wanting a comprehensive analysis. As I said last week, while the modern accent can be compared, for its differences, with standard British English accents, it would be wrong to compare … Continue reading