December 1, 2013
by Graham
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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 11, 2013
by Graham
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The other day, I forget exactly when, I heard someone on BBC Radio 4 use a word I hadn’t come across before, and one to which my immediate reaction was “he’s making it up”. However, I should have remembered that … Continue reading
May 7, 2013
by Graham
1 Comment
Once again, Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4’s morning programme, has displayed linguistic ignorance, whether by accident or design. Last week’s programme (4 May) interviewed the ‘caller’ (British English ‘commentator’) for the Kentucky Derby (surprisingly the current caller is British). Twice, … Continue reading
April 23, 2013
by Graham
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Radio 4’s “Saturday Live” programme, broadcast on Saturday mornings at 9 am, this week included a contribution from Nevile Gwynne. We were told that Mr Gwynne (and throughout the programme he was called “Mr Gwynne” rather than “Neville”) retired as … Continue reading
April 15, 2013
by Graham
1 Comment
Melvyn Bragg trailed this week’s In Our Time (on the Amazons) on Radio 4 this morning (Thursday 11 April) at 8.30 pronouncing these two words as /penθəˈsiËlɪə/ and /ˈsætaɪəz/. I was interested to learn what he was going to say … Continue reading
April 3, 2013
by Graham
2 Comments
Just a couple of pronunciations I’ve come across recently that I’d never encountered before: 1) /ˈdiËtrɪtÉ™s/ (Harold Evans, former editor of the Sunday Times, on Broadcasting House, Radio 4, Sunday 31 March 2013) I’ve heard /ˈdetrɪtÉ™s/ quite often, but never … Continue reading
February 25, 2013
by Graham
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I’ve just been listening to Nick Robinson’s programme about the BBC and the General Strike of 1926, and noticed that he referred to “listeners-in” throughout. In fact this was something that Reith thoroughly disapproved of. In 1924 he had written … Continue reading
February 2, 2013
by Graham
1 Comment
The unfortunate pollution in the English Channel (at least that’s where it’s assumed to be), that has caused the oiling of several hundred seabirds, means that two new words have been added to the vocabulary of BBC Radio News. Friday … Continue reading
November 13, 2012
by Graham
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I don’t often comment on BBC politics or indeed any BBC matters apart from language use, but here goes: In the now notorious interview that George Entwistle gave to John Humphrys on the Radio 4 “Today” programme last Saturday morning, … Continue reading