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March 6, 2016 7:02 pm  #1


The Queen's English...

Spent quite a few years in broadcasting and never considered myself to be very good at it or exceptional....I fooled them all for a long time as the saying goes. I was realistic...

But I do have a bit of a pet peeve...I hear newscasters on a major GTA  radio station dropping the "g" at the end of some words. Words like coming...they will say  comin'  or working...they will sometimes use workin'... I am not talking about program hosts...I am talking about newscasters....top and bottom of the hour newscasters. It's not epidemic but to me once is one time too many. And I've heard it happen more than once.

I don't know if they are trying to be friendly and folksy but it sounds like shite.

Anyone else agree or am I just behavin'  like an old codger on this one ??


  
 

March 6, 2016 7:25 pm  #2


Re: The Queen's English...

Hate to admit it, but I'm up there also.   I know, I'm old, and I'm a language snob, but in a major market,  I want excellent diction enunciation and presentation.    I know the school excuse that it's about getting the message across clearly,, and the transport shouldn't matter, but I personally believe it does.  

A lot.

 


Madness takes its toll.  Please have exact change.
 
 

March 6, 2016 8:21 pm  #3


Re: The Queen's English...

Peter Mansbridge would never approve.  i'm gonna axe 'im

Last edited by splunge (March 6, 2016 8:22 pm)

 

March 6, 2016 10:01 pm  #4


Re: The Queen's English...

Really want to hear the English language get royally butchered?  Try CNN.  It's deplorable.  Along the way I've read a few scripts.  I'd correct the errors and subsequently read them accordingly.  It's one thing for someone to write that 'stuff' and quite another for me to agree with their 'take' by reading it as written.  No can do...to this day.

Yelling at the clouds?!?!?!?!?

Take off eh?

 

March 6, 2016 10:20 pm  #5


Re: The Queen's English...

Has anyone else noticed the total disappearance of the words "fewer" and "many" from all forms of media, being replaced by their counterparts, "less" and "much"?

How can there be "less" people. Less intelligent people - YES, but "less" people? How much people like one thing more than another - YES. How "much" people are in a crowd? I think not.

Drives me to distraction hearing my grown children and grandchildren abuse their native language and be supported in their action by TV and Radio personalities doing the same thing. They know not and care less that what they say sounds horribly awkward and stupid to those who know better and actually give a damn. 

I never got the 'hang' of French in high school and dropped it in grade 11. I wonder, is the French language, such as it is spoken in Quebec by media and regular folk, similarly spoken using descriptive words incorrectly?

One last point...you can't drive or walk down a street in the area I live and not see signage that contains spelling errors. "Catelic (sic) converters fixed", seen on a local independent muffler shop's sign. "We want you're (sic) gold" at one of the dozens of these kind of businesses. Kids and grown-ups alike seemingly take no notice. In my opinion they are not just spelling errors that slipped by a proof reader. They are intentional spellings of words that are either commonly miss-used, you're vs. your, or are just not commonly used words, catalytic vs. catelic.

Maybe this would be a good point for me to re-read this post and check for my own grammatical errors.  

Ahhhh - why bother? I could care fewer!

Last edited by DeepTracks (March 6, 2016 10:22 pm)

 

March 6, 2016 10:49 pm  #6


Re: The Queen's English...

What bugs me to no end is when people express a reduction in the quantity of something by saying it's a certain times less.

They'll say it's 4 times less rather than 1-quarter of.

If you have 100 of something, 1 time less leaves you with zero.  4 times less leaves you with -300.

But 1-quarter of 100 is 25, which is probably what the the author intended.

There is a reason why the medical and legal professions have such specific (and to many, daunting) terms that they use.  It's to make sure there is no ambiguity.  Common English can achieve the same thing if used properly.

 

 

March 7, 2016 1:26 am  #7


Re: The Queen's English...

Another thing I've noticed now seemingly solidly entrenched in the English language is the starting of a sentence  with the word "so"...

Have you folks noticed this....unlike dropping the letter g off the end of words...using   the word "so" to begin a sentence IS epidemic.

I've heard the premier of Ontario do it quite often, the deputy premier too, I've heard academics (yes!!!) and professionals (yes!!!) and the man on the street does it too...most often but not always while being interviewed. It drives me nuts. I'm talking about the highly educated and articulate here. It's obvious  they are "gathering" their thoughts but why a sentence has to start with the word "so" I just don't get. 

Are they from the valley ???

And how did it become so bloody common ?? Age, gender social status...it doesn't seem to matter.

Soooooo......if  you pay close  attention you will hear it just about every day somewhere or other.

And while I'm at it there's a university football head coach at a highly successful school around these parts who in a 60  second interview will use the term..."ya know'...6 or 7 times on average...

So now ya' know...




 

Last edited by unclefester (March 7, 2016 1:29 am)


  
     Thread Starter
 

March 7, 2016 10:09 am  #8


Re: The Queen's English...

Good gravy, this thread gets me going. 
I agree with all the points so far, especially the fewer/less situation.  It's basic grammar.
Also the lack of proper sentence structure drives me mad.  Broadcasters seem to be just speaking in headlines.
And while the dropping of the g, turning words like working into workin' gets under my skin, I go bananas when I hear so-called professional broadcasters drop the g and replace it with "een" as in come-een an go-een and work-een.

And don't make the argument that it's the evolution of the language.  It's just wrong.

Now all you kids -- get off my lawn!!!
And where's that bag of Werther's Original?

 

 

March 7, 2016 1:39 pm  #9


Re: The Queen's English...

This actually makes me wonder if those charged with teaching us the Queen's English are actually doing their job properly?

Takes me back to the late 70s when my Grade 10 English teacher used to constantly say "ex-cetera".

I guess these days I would probably just axe her why?
 

 

March 7, 2016 2:33 pm  #10


Re: The Queen's English...

unclefester wrote:

Another thing I've noticed now seemingly solidly entrenched in the English language is the starting of a sentence  with the word "so"...

Have you folks noticed this....unlike dropping the letter g off the end of words...using   the word "so" to begin a sentence IS epidemic.

I've heard the premier of Ontario do it quite often, the deputy premier too, I've heard academics (yes!!!) and professionals (yes!!!) and the man on the street does it too...most often but not always while being interviewed. It drives me nuts. I'm talking about the highly educated and articulate here. It's obvious  they are "gathering" their thoughts but why a sentence has to start with the word "so" I just don't get. 

Are they from the valley ???

And how did it become so bloody common ?? Age, gender social status...it doesn't seem to matter.

Soooooo......if  you pay close  attention you will hear it just about every day somewhere or other.

And while I'm at it there's a university football head coach at a highly successful school around these parts who in a 60  second interview will use the term..."ya know'...6 or 7 times on average...

So now ya' know...




 

Although I agree with every post, THIS ^^^ is the one that drives me batty the most. Yelling at the Radio Batty.
DON'T start a sentence with SO...DAMMIT!!


 I am Here, just not all there.
 

March 7, 2016 2:41 pm  #11


Re: The Queen's English...

I've noticed, more in US Shows, that they say 1 fourth or 3 fourths.  Not the end of the world, but in an environment where your 25 cent coin is so aptly named, it's funny how that didn't translate to measurement.

Peter the K wrote:

What bugs me to no end is when people express a reduction in the quantity of something by saying it's a certain times less.

They'll say it's 4 times less rather than 1-quarter of.

 

 


Madness takes its toll.  Please have exact change.
 
 

March 7, 2016 4:58 pm  #12


Re: The Queen's English...

Tq345 wrote:

Good gravy, this thread gets me going. 
I agree with all the points so far, especially the fewer/less situation.  It's basic grammar.
Also the lack of proper sentence structure drives me mad.  Broadcasters seem to be just speaking in headlines.
And while the dropping of the g, turning words like working into workin' gets under my skin, I go bananas when I hear so-called professional broadcasters drop the g and replace it with "een" as in come-een an go-een and work-een.

And don't make the argument that it's the evolution of the language.  It's just wrong.

Now all you kids -- get off my lawn!!!
And where's that bag of Werther's Original?

 

"Een" seems to be common among English speakers from Quebec and french parts of Ontario. I have worked with two people who said "een" and both were from french speaking parts of Canada but both spoke English.

 

March 7, 2016 5:54 pm  #13


Re: The Queen's English...

It's all gone to H-E-double-hockey-sticks. It's Drumpf's fault.
 

Last edited by Dial Twister (March 7, 2016 5:54 pm)

 

March 7, 2016 8:35 pm  #14


Re: The Queen's English...

listen closely to geo noori. he says 'een'. i say it's a slight impediment.