News Reporters and Bad Accents

[bwana]

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.

Really - have you asked them all then?

People presenting the news should be comprehensible otherwise it becomes an exercise in futility - wasting everyone's time, money, and resources.

 

[jontyB]

Really - have you asked them all then?

People presenting the news should be comprehensible otherwise it becomes an exercise in futility - wasting everyone's time, money, and resources.

Don't you know? Angelo is the authority on the thoughts of South Africans.

 

[jontyB]

Who else cringes at the routine manglification & extremely bad mispronunciation used by the guy that does the promos for programmes on ETv?

Most definitely

 

[icyrus]

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

The discussion isn't (or wasn't) about accents but about proper pronunciation and grammar. English can still be used correctly even with an accent.

 

[antowan]

Well, the SABC is not following good practice guidelines as is the case overseas. In the UK and the USA they have what is called News English. It is a neutral accent that is understood by most people.

There are slight accent nuances seeping through on some stations, but they are minor and don't affect understanding what is said.

The SABC needs to get more pro in this regard. The problem is that their decision makers fear seeming linguistically superior if they insist on accent training etc. This is water that hasn't been tread after 94. It was however dealt with in the 40's or 50's South Africa if I am not mistaken...

Ask anybody who worked in the Apartheid era SAUK! They will tell you how anal the public broadcaster was about correct English and Afrikaans... The stories are scary!

 

[Omac]

The discussion isn't (or wasn't) about accents but about proper pronunciation and grammar. English can still be used correctly even with an accent.

Check the thread title, "News Reporters and Bad Accents".


But I agree. For me it's not about the accent but rather it's the poor use of English that irritates.

 

[kilo39]

Accents are great. It's the complete mangling of the language that is the problem. And the same presenter makes the same mistakes for ever... doesn't anybody listen to this stuff and do quality control? And the scripts in the first place are just plain wrong. Surely the presenter preps on the scripts? (Thumbsuck) CNN for instance, Lou Dobbs, preps the whole day for a one hour show. Why doesn't the presenter pick up on this when they read the script (in prep?) Oh, but they obviously don't prep. It's the first time they've seen it!! No professionalism, no care: another government monopoly. Make it up as they go along. The average 3 year old would do better!

And everyone seems to have missed my link: THE BBC NEWS STYLEGUIDE

And this is a big issue with this country; not accountable to anybody. No rebukes, no firings, no matter the wrong: all is excusable.

Sickening.

 

[nthdimension]

Who else cringes at the routine manglification & extremely bad mispronunciation used by the guy that does the promos for programmes on ETv?

Isn't he the same horrible twit that did or used to do the Lotto thing on Saturday nights?

 

[Syndyre]

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.

True but being English myself I wouldn't apply for the Zulu News anchor's job. Nobody's expecting everybody to pronounce English perfectly but if you can't speak the language properly then don't take a job where your main function is speaking it.

 

[Syndyre]

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

The measure is based on the people living here who are both South African citizens and have English as their first language, seems fair enough to me.

 

[Syndyre]

Ummm, so if I understand you correctly, you are saying that bcos White English speaking South Africans, are a minority group in South Africa, they do not have the right to have their own language??? So much for The Constitution that on paper enshrines such rights...

That's exactly the problem I think, because English is seen as a universal language we who are actually English lose the right to our own language.

 

[Syndyre]

Who else cringes at the routine manglification & extremely bad mispronunciation used by the guy that does the promos for programmes on ETv?

Absolutely. DSTV ftw!

 

[Syndyre]

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.

Diversity is one thing but there certainly is a standard way words should be pronounced, though it may differ slightly with accents. Bad grammar also can't be explained away by diversity.

 

[Syndyre]

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

I do already watch those but I resent the fact that I'm forced to pay a licence fee to keep the incompetent SABC in business.

 

[Angelo]

The discussion isn't (or wasn't) about accents but about proper pronunciation and grammar.

Could have fooled me :

Thread Title: News Reporters and Bad Accents

First Post: Why do we need to be saddled with the rediculously bad accents that some of the news reporters use? Needless to say this seems to be an SABC "feature".

 

[jontyB]

But in a way accent is part of the issue - mainly because news readers and reporters at most internationally recognised news organisations (e.g. Sky News, BBC News, CNN and even Al Jazeera) speak with neutral accents. In most cases the accent that seeps into the language used does not deter from the legibility of the newscast. Until you get to the SABC that is.

SABC has in the past had excellent neutral news anchors, like Anand Naidoo. Anand is now a CNN anchor, and doing a darned good job. He has good enunciation and also speaks "neutrally", i.e. without any big accent.

SABC's standards have dropped incredibly. IMHO, if you can't pronounce the words and your accent deters from the basic understanding of what you're trying to say, become a print journalist (just get some spelling tips from bdt first), but really, Radio and TV is NOT for you.

 

[Omac]

(e.g. Sky News, BBC News, CNN and even Al Jazeera) speak with neutral accents.

A serious question...... what is a neutral accent?

I am able to hear the accents on all those channels mentioned.(except Al Jazeera)

The CNN ones will mostly be identifiable by Americans. I can only id them as American. Ditto the poms (except the yorkshire accent - that one's easy)

 

[jontyB]

A serious question...... what is a neutral accent?

I am able to hear the accents on all those channels mentioned.(except Al Jazeera)

The CNN ones will mostly be identifiable by Americans. I can only id them as American. Ditto the poms (except the yorkshire accent - that one's easy)

*sigh*

The American accent you hear on TV is hugely different from the average American's accent. I spent quite a lot of time in the States 4 years ago and more than half the time I couldn't understand what was being said. Just compare the pommie accent to a Surrey accent. Example: compare a BBC news reader or reporter's accent with say Geoffrey Boycott.

If you don't get it then you probably never will.

 

[Nod]

Riaan Krywagen is the best example of somebody that takes his job seriously. He is capable of speaking Afrikaans and English perfectly, and even manage to pronounce African names without too much effort, like he really practiced beforehand. Just wished the other news readers and presenters showed the same dedication.

 

[Sarakael]

I think we should compare sabc news to sky news. In England there are plenty of different "dialects" or accents. Yet there is uniformity with regards to the accents of the newsreaders and reporters.

They seem to have chosen the most "correct" accent and gone with that.

We on the other hand get people who can hardly speak English talking about sheeps that sail in the sea