Sunday 4 April 2010

Talking Drivel

While we all expect to hear Joe Public make mistakes in everyday speech (and Jo Public too, to be politically correct), one does not expect to hear it on the television. However recently I have noted several mistakes by experienced presenters and even newsreaders.

Emphasised on a morning show by who was trying to say 'should have' quite clearly emphasised 'SHOULD OF'!

ITN newsreader, with decades of experience, reading a report on the sentencing of a criminal found guilty for burglary, was heard to say 'BURGLE-REE' and not 'BURG-LE-REE' not once but twice!

A well-known Scotsman, who has served Sky Sports as a football pundit for far too long after his playing career ended, will insist on using the word 'plenty' in every other sentence, yet never follows it with 'of' - hence we get 'plenty players' and 'plenty time' instead of 'plenty of players' and 'plenty of time'.

And on the subject of former players as football pundits, when did footballer start to be pronounced 'FUTBLER'?

Innumerable broadcasters will insist on treating mass names (team, herd, couple, pair, quartet, etc) as singular - ie 'the the newly married couple IS leaving for their honeymoon'.

Some irritating woman on Channel 4 was heard to say a couple were getting married at a REGISTRY OFFICE when clearly written behind her was the sign stating it was a REGISTER OFFICE.

I recall being constantly irritated by a woman who would insist on telling me to 'have a relax'.

On a related topic I had to laugh at the look of confusion on the face of a young woman (she shall remain nameless) who had clearly only ever heard the word 'ISSUE' used as a synonym for 'PROBLEM' when she was told that a particular person had died 'without issue'!

And of course there are the place names which are mispronounced. Which will be addressed another time.

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