To expect a newspaper to not use slang in a serious news article

[lucyellensmum]

I dont usually get all precious about the English language, on account of the fact that mine is pretty rubbish. However, i picked up a copy of the Sun in the hospital waiting room yesterday, i was trying to keep up with what was happening to the poor Mc Cann family. Throughout the artical, the police were referred to as cops.
. I do appreciate that the Sun is not exactly a broadsheet and the news is presented in a, how can i say without causing offence, dumbed down context. But Cops???? This is not only slang, but almost a humourous description of the police and i actually found it inappropriate in this instance. I find it a little patronising towards its readers too, the assumption that they would rather read slang than correct English. It is not like police is a difficult word is it. Thats it, rant over.

[geekymummy]

don't forget the term "love rat", never used IRL either

[lucyellensmum]

oh god, i have a tummy bug, that image is NOT helping.

[Sidge]

LOL Lucyellensmum - they probably would describe her as a stunna as long as she had her boobs out!

[lucyellensmum]

Any half dressed woman sidge? um, even maggie thatcher caught in the shower by the blind man?

[WideWebWitch]

Not soldiers Sidge, they're 'our brave lads'

[mytwopenceworth]

It's the Sun.

Police is out of the question - it's 2 syllables. (this explains 'kids', too)

Women come in 2 types - Stunna or Lesbinim

And it's probably best not to confuse them by trying to explain we have an air force and a navy as well.

[Sidge]

In SunLand:

Police officers are cops.

Children are kids or tots.

Any half dressed female is a stunna

And a member of any of the 3 armed services is a soldier

[startouchedtrinity]

I can honestly say I never read it. But I find the slang bizaare and it wouldn't make it easier to scan. Pal? Round here it's 'mate'. And cops are only in American tv shows - we have the Old Bill, thank you.

[stepfordwife]

fair cop

[Bouncingturtle]

Absolutely - I occasionally flick through a colleagues

[lucyellensmum]

thats exactly right stepford, i have even found myself reading it in the cafe, but i err towards the mirror. Will have to pick one up and scan it for slang, im sure i'll find plenty

[stepfordwife]

most people who say they hate the sun are quite happy to read other people's copies, in the doctor's waiting room , over a tutting commuter's shoulder on the tube..etc
or is it ok to read it as long as you don't actually buy it?

[Bouncingturtle]

Probably because you are far too intelligent and the clues are too obvious

[lucyellensmum]

girls girls! Don't take on so!!! Firtsly, i was only reading the "comic" whilst i sat and waited for my mum to have an x-ray after sitting in a side room of A&E for three hours. So i guess desperation got the better of me. I daresay i haven't read the paper in the past 30 years, since I was six so would not have expected that,see how out of touch i am donnie yeah right, of course i'd have expected that.

PMSL about the headlines, this is almost as good as daily mail bashing, which incedentally, i would chose the Sun over any day of the week.

LewisFan you make a very good point there about the tabloids, i find the broadsheets hard work actually as you definately cannot get through an artical quickly enough to get the general gist, in the rush that us mums are usually in. Wouldnt it be great to have a paper somewhere in between that was easy to read but didnt patronise its readership with shite English and joke stories.

PS - i've never actually been able to complete the sun crossword, not even with the quick clues

[Bouncingturtle]

The Sun is a newspaper???? I thought it was a comic lol
Yes you are being unreasonable....

[Alambil]

the whole point of the tabloids is to be easy to scan / read. This is why they are loaded with rhyming, catchy headlines, short sentences and paragraphs and also have pragraph headings too (one or two words to "sum up" usually) This makes it unthreatening to the readership, unlike a broadsheet with reams and reams of words with no spaces between the paragraphs - as in "proper" writing)

serious topics get a complete vocabulary overhaul in order to make reading it easier and faster. (I am sad - I breifly studied tabloid press in uni the other year..!)

I'm not at all surprised at the Sun using "cops"; it is the whole point of a tabloid. Surely if you wanted to read the story with better vocab, you should have got the Times or Telegraph or likewise?

I think YABU, seeing as this is the way tabloid press works.

[donnie]

You don't want to go there bella.

[startouchedtrinity]

I agree with WWW. If you read the Sun, that is what you get.

Another Tabloid word is raunchy. Ugh!

[LittleBella]

LOL

Would it be a mistake to ask you what it looks like?

Would it lead us places we may not want to go?

[donnie]

I have a romper suit.

[LittleBella]

I love the idea of romping.

It sounds so healthy and natural and outdoor.

But I suspect it may not be...

[ScottishMummy]

LOL southeastra o i think of sun as a comic not reputable newspaper

[southeastastra]

god all the orrible things going on in this world and you worry about the sun

[stepfordwife]

..sorry just seen your post, lb...
makes two of us who haven't romped then...

[stepfordwife]

...and has anyone ever had a "romp"?