The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / The Worst News Mispronunciation Yet

**Posted by RadioActive** May 11, 2025 10:25 am

We've had several threads here about the lack of knowledge from some current news folks as they mangle names of streets, places and other things they should probably know. But very early Sunday morning, I heard one that simply defies description.

It happened on Kitchener's 570 News of all places, and I only heard it because the dog woke me up at 4:55 AM. When I couldn't get back to sleep, I do what I often do - turn on the radio. They simulcast the Infinity Sports feed with the Fan590, but there's a brief two minute break where an anchor comes on and does a very quick review of the headlines.

This woman, whose name I was far too sleepy to catch, came on and ran down the top stories. She had a very bizarre accent that I couldn't quite pin down, and she badly mangled a lot of the copy she read. But the one that stood out to me came when she talked about the Ukraine-Russia truce talks and referred to the president of Russia as - and I'm not making this up - Vladimir Poutine.

Yes, Poutine, the Quebec food made up of cheese curds, French fries and gravy. I don't know what Vlad the Impaler (or his food taster) eats, but I'm assuming it's not that - and in either event, that is not his last name.

Fortunately, it was very early on a weekend morning, so I'm assuming no one but me even heard it. But this has to be one of the worst ones yet.

**Posted by RadioActive** May 11, 2025 10:35 am

I wonder if this Poutine came with Russian dressing?

**Posted by Binson Echorec** May 11, 2025 11:22 am

Ouch.

With the recent news surrounding Rome, I was surprised to hear a 680News weekender refer to the upcoming "puh-PAWL" conclave.

**Posted by Easily Amused** May 11, 2025 11:57 am

Binson Echorec wrote:
Ouch.

With the recent news surrounding Rome, I was surprised to hear a 680News weekender refer to the upcoming "puh-PAWL" conclave.

The newsreader had just finished binge watching multiple seasons of 'RuPaul's Drag Race'? 🤔😁

**Posted by Capricasix** May 11, 2025 4:06 pm

RadioActive wrote:
We've had several threads here about the lack of knowledge from some current news folks as they mangle names of streets, places and other things they should probably know. But very early Sunday morning, I heard one that simply defies description.

It happened on Kitchener's 570 News of all places, and I only heard it because the dog woke me up at 4:55 AM. When I couldn't get back to sleep, I do what I often do - turn on the radio. They simulcast the Infinity Sports feed with the Fan590, but there's a brief two minute break where an anchor comes on and does a very quick review of the headlines.

This woman, whose name I was far too sleepy to catch, came on and ran down the top stories. She had a very bizarre accent that I couldn't quite pin down, and she badly mangled a lot of the copy she read. But the one that stood out to me came when she talked about the Ukraine-Russia truce talks and referred to the president of Russia as - and I'm not making this up - Vladimir Poutine.

Yes, Poutine, the Quebec food made up of cheese curds, French fries and gravy. I don't know what Vlad the Impaler (or his food taster) eats, but I'm assuming it's not that - and in either event, that is not his last name.

Fortunately, it was very early on a weekend morning, so I'm assuming no one but me even heard it. But this has to be one of the worst ones yet.

Poutine is the French spelling and pronunciation of Putin. Other languages probably spell and pronounce the name in a similar way.

**Posted by RadioActive** May 11, 2025 4:14 pm

I have never heard that before and I have trouble believing it's true. But benefit of the doubt, say you're correct.

Either way, she was not on a station in France or Quebec and that is not how it's pronounced here. Vladimir Poutine is wrong on an English radio station. It's that simple and since she's working for an all news station, she should know that.

**Posted by Hansa** May 11, 2025 4:45 pm

Apparently, in the early 90s Gallup Canada had the bright idea of contracting out its calling to an American call centre. In the lead up to the 1993 election, baffled Canadians got calls from people with Southern American accents asking if they'd be voting for Gene Cretin. Gallup disappeared from the Canadian scene shortly after.

**Posted by newsguy1** May 11, 2025 5:57 pm

Technically she is not wrong.
In the Cyrillic alphabet Putin's name would be pronounced Poo-tyeen.
Which actually sounds very much like our potatoes and cheese dish poutine.
What we see as a backwards N in Russian is pronounced EE or YEE.

**Posted by Dial Twister** May 11, 2025 6:01 pm

If we're going for accuracy, why not call him Dictator Poutine, which is exactly who and what he is?

**Posted by Capricasix** May 11, 2025 6:09 pm

RadioActive wrote:
I have never heard that before and I have trouble believing it's true. But benefit of the doubt, say you're correct.

I am correct.

**Posted by newsguy1** May 11, 2025 6:10 pm

Dick Tater would be a great radio name.

**Posted by RadioActive** May 11, 2025 7:06 pm

Capricasix wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
I have never heard that before and I have trouble believing it's true. But benefit of the doubt, say you're correct.
I am correct.

OK, I'll take your word for it. But my point stands - she's not on a French radio station and that isn't the way we say it on this side of the pond. The fact it's the name of a popular Quebec food just makes it more surreal.

**Posted by Shorty Wave** May 12, 2025 6:51 am

Sorry, no excuses. English radio broadcasts should use english pronunciations, regardless how a word is spelt in another language, which shouldn’t even be a factor here, jeez!

**Posted by Easily Amused** May 12, 2025 8:38 am

Shorty Wave wrote:
Sorry, no excuses. English radio broadcasts should use english pronunciations, regardless how a word is spelt in another language, which shouldn’t even be a factor here, jeez!

As a related thought to this, I have always listened for foreign or ethnic broadcasts, where the speaker is rattling away in the foreign language, then drops a flawless pronunciation of a person or location in English. 😁

**Posted by Ida Spencer** May 12, 2025 11:20 am

RadioActive wrote:
I wonder if this Poutine came with Russian dressing?

As seen outside a Hamilton restaurant last August (P.S. - It's still there)

**Posted by Binson Echorec** May 12, 2025 11:51 am

Easily Amused wrote:
Shorty Wave wrote:
Sorry, no excuses. English radio broadcasts should use english pronunciations, regardless how a word is spelt in another language, which shouldn’t even be a factor here, jeez!
As a related thought to this, I have always listened for foreign or ethnic broadcasts, where the speaker is rattling away in the foreign language, then drops a flawless pronunciation of a person or location in English. 😁

I'm of two minds on this - while the anglicization of words is nigh impossible to avoid, "foreign" names and places should be kept as close as possible to the native language of origin.

Two recent examples: Jagmeet Singh and Kiev.

While I wish he'd done so much earlier in his career, when former NDP leader Jagmeet Singh finally made us aware that his name is pronounced "Jug-meet", I personally had no problem making the switch. Since then and throughout the recent election, I've heard an equal mix of "Jag" and "Jug" depending on the anchor or pundit - mainly because "Jag" has long seeped into the collective consciousness.

Conversely, until the recent incursion in Ukraine, most of us pronounced the capital as "Key-ev". It wasn't until the war began that we learned that it is natively pronounced as "Keev". I still hear a mix of both but "Keev" is certainly more prevalent.

Both "Jug-meet" and "Keev" sound more accurate and respectful to me. Would switching from "poo-tin" to "poo-teen" be more accurate and respectful? Probably, but it's not going to happen.

**Posted by RadioActive** May 12, 2025 12:06 pm

Here's another one I've heard a lot lately. Technically, it isn't wrong, but it sounds so odd, it could almost be considered an error in my mind.

With the hockey playoffs underway, I'm constantly hearing some newsreaders (especially with the Canadian Press, who should know better) give an update of something like, "The current score is one-to-zero."

There's technically nothing wrong with that per se, but everyone I've ever heard who knows anything about sports would say "one-to-nothing." No one I've really ever heard says "zero" in giving a score. If the other side doesn't score, "nothing" is the term that's always used.

The other way just sounds odd and points out to me that the person delivering the line knows 'zero' (you should pardon the expression) about sports.

**Posted by Binson Echorec** May 12, 2025 12:25 pm

^Technically, it should be "one-nothing", no "to", though I've heard what you're referencing. I've also heard this gem: "Blue Jays lose two to four".

**Posted by RadioActive** May 18, 2025 10:42 am

Did I just hear NT1010 Trivia Show Jason Agnew give out a clue in which he referred to something called an "A Rack A Nid?"

Yes, I did. And it's pronounced arachnid ("a-rack-nid") referring to a spider.

Not only that, he said it wrong several times.

Doesn't he write his own questions and wouldn't he have checked this before going on air with it?

[Edit: Someone must have told him during the break, because the next time he repeated the question, he said it correctly.]

Last edited by RadioActive (May 18, 2025 10:57 am)

**Posted by mic'em** May 19, 2025 8:28 am

A CBC newsreader on the Sudbury affiliate called a local village up here called Onaping, O nap ing one day last week. Two other locations here get named incorrectly alot as well. Hanmer is frequently called Hamner, and Capreol, Donna Skelly's home town, is called Cap ree ol. The correct pronunciation is Cape ree ol. I assume it is due to the area being highly French speaking.

**Posted by Forward Power** May 19, 2025 9:00 am

mic'em wrote:
A CBC newsreader on the Sudbury affiliate called a local village up here called Onaping, O nap ing one day last week. Two other locations here get named incorrectly alot as well. Hanmer is frequently called Hamner, and Capreol, Donna Skelly's home town, is called Cap ree ol. The correct pronunciation is Cape ree ol. I assume it is due to the area being highly French speaking.

Wondered about that pronunication, esp. as a broadcast engineer I used to work with was from Levack I believe. Is Foleyet pronounced the way it looks, or is that a different one too?

**Posted by paterson1** May 19, 2025 10:21 am

What is it with some reporters dropping the letter T from names and words? This morning Alayna Treene a reporter on CNN referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as Vladimir "Poo-In" two times in her report. Huh?

**Posted by newsguy1** May 19, 2025 11:47 am

Oh no she dih-unt!

**Posted by turkeytop** May 19, 2025 12:00 pm

For a lot of years we lived up around Wiarton. The people who live there call it Wiar-n.

**Posted by mace** May 19, 2025 1:59 pm

Binson Echorec wrote:
^Technically, it should be "one-nothing", no "to", though I've heard what you're referencing. I've also heard this gem: "Blue Jays lose two to four".

In soccer it is 1-nil.

**Posted by mic'em** May 20, 2025 6:50 am

Forward Power wrote:
mic'em wrote:
A CBC newsreader on the Sudbury affiliate called a local village up here called Onaping, O nap ing one day last week. Two other locations here get named incorrectly alot as well. Hanmer is frequently called Hamner, and Capreol, Donna Skelly's home town, is called Cap ree ol. The correct pronunciation is Cape ree ol. I assume it is due to the area being highly French speaking.
Wondered about that pronunication, esp. as a broadcast engineer I used to work with was from Levack I believe. Is Foleyet pronounced the way it looks, or is that a different one too?

To be honest, I was unaware of that one. I would presume Foley et, but could be Foley eh. I have a couple of French speaking neighbours, I'm going to ask if they know.