To have noticed the current trend for Dropping One's Gs?

[HateIsNotGood]

I first noticed Beth Rigby of Sky News forgetting the G at the end of 'ing' words by accenting the N. I found it quite endearing.

I now notice how widespread this new enunciation is and it looks most prevalent amongst London-centric/based people.

Not London-bashing btw nor criticizing, just noticing and reflecting that judgements used to be made if one dropped one's Hs.

YANBU - you've noticed this too
YABU - I've no idea what you're talkin' about.

Oh I've just watched a bit of a video with Beth Rigby and heard exactly what you mean! I definitely don't say "ing" words like that. It was really noticeable. She sounds quite posh to me until those bits. I'm from East London, but I don't really have the accent. Accents are so interesting.

"Huntin' shootin' fishin' " used to be a shorthand descriptor of a certain type of toff

I gradually and very subconsciously dropped my GS after I moved to Bristol yeeeears ago. I'm not sure what happened but I can't help it now! I think everyone does it here so I barely notice it anymore.

Steve Wright on radio 2 has been doing serious jockin’ as a feature for about 100 years where listeners message in with there no G suggestions!

@Luc1nda

Bring?

Although to be fair I think a fair few people where I'm from would just say 'fetch' instead!

It's a very large town near to London.

My private school educated friends pronounce their Gs
My state school friends don't.

I'm state school educated but pronounce them most of the time.

I'mNot - Guildford maybe? Not that it matters, as this thread was posted as frivolous respite from the deadly serious.

Given your anecdotal evidence and the rest supplied by other posters, I'll hypothesize that this current annihilation of the soft G at the end of ing-words is an affectation.

Possibly to disguise any educational and economic privileges that the speaker may have had? Or, it's an affectation that many just pick up as everyone else they know speak that way too?

Night for now folks.

I've noticed people who are otherwise well-spoken saying somethink/nothink/anythink.

Not Guildford no.
Reading. (Or Readin' as most locals seem to say)
Basingstoke/Guildford/Newbury all seem to have the same accent as us.

Not an affectation. Just how people speak around here. Mainly.

Where are you from? The g in ing is pretty strong in the midlands and parts of Wales but not really elsewhere.

And ftr, I'm in the northeast where people were gannin' alang (yeah, inconsistent) the Scotswood Road before you were even thought of.

There are many reasons why I can't bear Pritti Patel but her voice is one of them. Once I'd noticed the 'g' drop I couldn't hear anything else. It makes me shudder.

I blame Steve fuckin' Wright and his Serious fuckin' Jockin'. Cungt!

YANBU OP.

@msmith501 Simon Groom on Blue Peter used to say "sing-ging", but he is from Derbyshire.

Glottal stop anyone?

I live in Essex, this is nothing new here. Definitely not an affectation. People do adopt an estuary twang to hide the public school though, I noticed it most back in the Blair days.

It's really common in Estuary English. Probably centuries old.

Maybe you're noticing it more because TV has been moving away from the RP accent in the last couple of decades.

I noticed Beth Rigby not pronouncing “-ing” the other night and can no longer listen to her. I’m definitely that person who can’t see past “free”, “fing” and “was you” though...

I always associate it with Country music, e.g a woman singing about her lyin, cheatin, gamblin man. Or the bloke who was born under a wandrin star.

The description of pronouncing g's makes me think of people like Trixie on call the midwife, with a very "posh" accent. Then there is the NW pronounce every g accent. Round here no one particularly says them, though to some extent it depends on the word. Nothing, something etc have a harder g than running, reading or whatever. I think I bring those g's out because my mum couldn't bear somefink and nuffink, and probably made me be sure to clearly avoid them .

There is no "g" in whatever.

Does one find the missing G while masturbatin?

@Florabritannica

So what? You understand exactly what they're saying.

You're a bit like my FIL. Always trying to correct DD's enunciation. We say: cart-oon not car-toon, drivin' not driving, yeah not yes (mostly). He seems to think we sound think because we don't speak like gentry. The snobby bastard.

Definitely not a recent phenomenon.