AIBU to think that the BBC should employ newsreaders who know how to pronounce words correctly?

[Dawndonna]

I have put up with 'contra verse y' for years, recently it has been 'pie ra cy' and 'pry va cy'. This morning, I heard 'in gin u a' for ingenue. I turned it off.

Yeah, I know it's trivial, but it annoys the hell out of me!

This thread is reminding me of my cousin who is a radio newsreader and constantly cocking up by mispronouncing places and people's names, getting the time of day wrong etc, very funny.

I don't think they even get a chance to read through things at all before having to read them out live on air.

I think fabulous is one of the most mispronounced words, one friend says
fab li ous, another fab a lous, drives me crazy!

terpsichore servikel cancer drives me insane.

Similarly oggle. Why? Similarly, why do people spell lech, as in a lecherous man, letch?

Btw I know how to pronounce your name but only because I looked it up years ago after someone looked at me in a superior way.

Dawndonna - Thwaite/Twaite is surely used in East Anglia as a joke to identify people 'not from round here' and to pass the time during long, flat winter evenings.

limited

DrCoconut No, very much not, I'm from the South Coast!

Have many bugbears, but ree-search and a-dult are my particular ones at the moment.

Apparently someone on radio one pronounced research correctly the other day; who would have thought it was the BBC's last bastion of correct pronunciation?

Bolsover annoys me.

I grew up there. It is pronounced Bolzover, NOT Bol-Sover (emphasis on the Sover)

although to everyone who lives there it is and always has been Boza

when I hear on the tv or radio that in Bol-Sover, I want to slap them till their face comes off in my hand.

I should probably get a grip, really.

Have been reading this thread with dp, testing out all the words.
Me; pry-minister ? I pronounce it like that, how else would you pronounce it?
Him; dickhead.

Me; pry-minister ? I pronounce it like that, how else would you pronounce it?

Maybe, 'prime-minister' ?

shelly - Who's got time for that?! Using one M just makes economical sense
there is a recession on you know

CAptaniMartinCrieff - you might want to let all the health professionals/radio presenters etc. etc. etc. know that, seeing as how they are the ones who talk about cer-veye-acal smears. There is no known reason why the neck vertebrae should be described as cerv-eye-acal either - cervix means neck, whether of the spine or the uterus, there is no difference.

I remember watching that paragon of intellectual telvision "a Place in the Sun"

The presenter proudly announced that the village in France was the birthplace of Marcel Prowst.

Why do people say kil-om-eter?

It's a kilo-metre, one thousand metres, just like kilogram is one thousand grams - nobody says kil-og-ram, so why kil-om-eter?

The word kilometer matches the rhythm of English better if you stress the second syllable.

Never noticed anything wrong with the rhythm of my English when saying kilo - metre....

It is certainly an issue with your children. You get some chilren who work very very hard in schools around here with my children but they do not speak English that well at home. They are often second generation from abroad and although their A level results might well exceed those of others in interviews and with customers/clients, presentations and the like they are let down by the poor standard of English. It does hold them back in all sorts of ways.

Rusty Bear

You are quite right. Do we talk about cen - ti- met - (h)er? NO. We call it sen tee meeta with the emphasis on sen.

I used to teach English as a Foreign Language - wish, wish, wish I could have used this thread back then. There's a whole term's work already!!!

Kilometer and controversy both sound 'better' (to me - this is purely subjective) if the stress is on the second syllable.

Where's that list? Oh there it is

I met someone once and had a daft conversation with her about her name.

Her: Hi I'm Grean, (said with northern irish accent)
Me (Thinking must have mis heard) Sorry?
Her: Grean
Me :Eh?
Her: Grean, you know like a grain of sand or a grain of rice
Me : How do you spell that then?
Her: Grainne.
Me: Oh you mean Graaw-nya (Honestly It just slipped out, I wouldnt normally tell someone how to pronounce their own name !
Her: No Grean
Me: Ok.

In my head I still call the poor girl Graw-nya

I hate hearing 'sick-th' for sixth. Is this actually the correct pronunciation. It annoys the hell out of me.

sec-er-tary, and ashoom for assume!

but I did find it sweet that my best friend at school used to say Sir sticky foot for certificate :)