News Reporters and Bad Accents

[Freshy-ZN]

ic

Bad spelling and grammar bothers me even if its in forums like this. I am not without fault though but as you say it does seem that some make no attempt at all to get it right. The only thing I deliberately skimp on is punctuation, especially apostrophes.

 

[Freshy-ZN]

something like speakenglish.co.za? or how about butchered-english.co.za?

 

[bdt]

I can't recall specific names of the various hosts RHRN, but I know at least some of the non-native English speakers (and let's cut to the chase here, this is often a euphimism for black, tho' the other ethnicities may apply too) on TV have beautiful diction and pronunciation ...and then there's that dreadful (to listen to listen to, she's at least OK to look at with the sound off) Aussie import who regularly decimates the language - and she doesn't have the non-native speaker excuse! (tho' Australian may well be different enough to qualify )

ic, I don't s'pose there's an opening for some kind of moderation (word deliberately chosen, think about it ) role for someone to effect positive change on the (ab)use of language in these here parts...?

 

[Jongi]

A language adapts to numbers. Hence why there is the abomination that is US English. So from there, is there a South African English?

The problem is one of potential spending power. Essentially if media outlets/advertisers feel that there are enough black people whose money they can get, it matters not what white south africa thinks.

 

[Jongi]

Using the same logic, one could conclude that there is a Black South African version of South African English [call it a dialect if necessary], as well as a White English Speaking version of South African English [another dialect that's closer to the UK English speaking version of English]...

The question is: why would Black South Africans feel the need to racialise the English language?

I would say to you that South Africans "racialise" the language. I would further say that white South Africans are accustomed to certain accents. If we are to be consistent then any South African accent when it comes to English is not proper English and as such should be not accepted. Why should the American accent be accepted?

Essentially if you are willing to accept any variation from what you would concede as the true measure (I assume British English), then really all you have to fight is your personal view of where the line should be drawn.

 

[Jongi]

The question is: why would Black South Africans feel the need to racialise the English language? - how many White English Speaking South Africans are there that feel they should racialise any of the other official languages?

But they do. White (English ??) South Africans feel English words should be spoken properly but yet feel no qualms about not properly pronouncing non-English words. Ask me I know.

 

[bdt]

A language adapts to numbers. Hence why there is the abomination that is US English. So from there, is there a South African English?

Amen to that! ...and yes, not only do you get "Seffrikan" English, you get local dialects where, say, Cape is different from Jozi ..is different from Durbs. But a language is also 'alive' in that it morphs and grows according to the whims of contemporary usage - and that's OK, it's what keeps a language alive and interesting; it's this that gives us interesting new words to play with!

The problem is one of potential spending power. Essentially if media outlets/advertisers feel that there are enough black people whose money they can get, it matters not what white south africa thinks.

Also a good point, but (and I have no empirical evidence to back this up) people who learn, say, English as a second language tend to be more classicaly correct users - in no small part because it's such a harum-scarum language to get your head around. Hell, I think it's in Sunday's paper that blacks show a preference for their precious darlings being taught English as a first language, thus giving big business access to a steadil expanding pool of buyers.

 

[Jongi]

ic, re your 1st point, you discount the Americans. But you forget for instance the French and their English accents. i could name many European countries whose English accents are bad. Yet when black South Africans speak English different from their white counterparts it is bad. Essentially the vibrant nature of the English language ensures that there is no "right" accent.

 

[Jongi]

ic do you see "South African English" as proper English?

I'll state it isn't.

 

[Jongi]

South African English [as spoken by predominantly White English South Africans] is a distinct dialect originally derived from British English, but still close enough to British English to still be considered to be English, unlike the USA version of 'English' where Americans have butchered spelling and pronunciation to the point where USA English is hardly English anymore. The South African version of English has maintained spelling with minor differences in pronunciation.

I find it interesting that the measure of what is "South African English" is based on the minority of the country

 

[kilo39]

Example - one word - different pronunciations depending on context:

row: in a line
row: a boat
row: people arguing

Seems many times they get the context wrong - hence wrong word and wrong pronunciation - some prep would help - of which our newscasters seem to do none. Also heavily correct/incorrect pronunciation of place names or people: Quba, LKeAda,yaywho. And a personal hate: insagints

and the repeats in one sentence and dumbness: the president went to paris in france where the president went to paris -.

in london in england which has london as its capital

in new york in manhattan

Now you can speak like the BBC newsreaders...
London - The British Broadcasting Corporation is publishing a book that will help viewers and listeners pronounce words with as much polish as its famously well-spoken newsreaders, its authors said on Thursday.

and came across this:

THE BBC NEWS STYLEGUIDE
Every time anyone writes a script for BBC News they are potentially touching the lives of millions of people – through radio, tv and the internet.That is the privilege of working for one of the biggest news organisations in the world.
-
It is our job to communicate clearly and effectively, to be understood without difficulty, and to offer viewers and listeners an intelligent use of language which they can enjoy. Good writing is not a luxury; it is an obligation.

 

[rwenzori]

Well that Business newsreader on SABC2 Morning Live - Morafe somebody - is incomprehensible. I can catch only every 4th or 5th word and cannot make sense of what she says. I think it is shattering that a public broadcaster can employ someone with so bad an accent in that role.

 

[Omac]

Why you listening to that propoganda anyway?

 

[Darth Garth]

Get DSTV and then you can watch Sky News or BBC.

 

[Freshy-ZN]

Its not about flipping minorities or majorities. White English speaking by definition speak English. Venda might be spoken by less people than Zulu but does it mean Zulu speakers can claim a right to barstardise Venda because they are the majority?????

Typical South African mentality....we are bigger than you so there! We are going to redesign your language, rename the things you built blah blah blah.

 

[Alan]

Get DSTV and then you can watch Sky News or BBC.

Not every english person can afford DSTV. Secondly Sky and BBC don't carry local news. If you pay a T.V licence you must surely be able to understand the presenters of your first language news bulletin. The current situation is moronic in the extreme.

This kind of thing disproves evolution .

 

[rwenzori]

Why you listening to that propoganda anyway?

I wouldn't miss Margot with the weather for anything!

Get DSTV and then you can watch Sky News or BBC.

The weather reports don't quite work for me.

 

[kilo39]

Over the last months it has been the great switchoff off of sabc. First the radio (now I prefer silence to them) - or news - not understandable, so bad it makes a person cringe. Switch off.

Well done sabc, you now have practically zero english watchers or listeners.

Our media desert.

 

[bdt]

So, in my earlier post I mentioned that bad as TV/radio is, the mangling of the language is also happening in 'print' media (which, arguably, can include news items online being as it's the same mechanism of reading an article). As "luck" would have it, I didn't have to wait long at all! The IOW article linked to there has the paragraph

Samuel divulged that pretty soon, the conversations became more personal, with "Claudia" asking him about girls, his preferences when it came to choosing girlfriends, what turned him on and other topics that Samuel was loathe (sic, emphasis mine) to confess.

Now, while clearly the same thing, loath is the adjtecive (and the word they should have used (FFS!), while loathe is the verb ...and a bloody internationally read and quoted news source HAS TO know the difference! I mean, what the hell happened to reporters (in this case one "Sherlissa Peters") actually knowing (enough of) their craft well enough to bandy around words like this and not get it wrong - and if they aren't able to cut it, why the hell are they being inflicted on us?! (oh wait, I know .. *sigh*) For that matter, where are the sub-editors whose job it is (that I know of, at least in part) to pick up on and correct this sort of thing?

Moreover, this is hardly an isolated occurrence, this is endemic; both in our local media and places like (the aforementioned) El Reg (id est UK/European media) - and people wonder why society is in decline...

... *pant.pant* /rant.off

 

[Angelo]

I don't have a problem with the way the news is being read and neither do the majority of South Africans, you can't expect a black person to talk English the same way the English do, hell even white South Africans can't! It's great that people have different accents, that's diversity and you'll have to expect it in this country. Anyway in the black community it's considered obnoxious to try and speak English like a white man and rightfully so. I enjoy it when Indians speak English like Indians, Russians like Russians and so forth.