Mispronunciation at the BBC. Whatever next!

I also notice how many newsreader can't say environment and disorientate leaving out whole syllables.

Now its caught me out. I say 'going to a hotel' but would never say haitch as my mother thought that was common, and there was no worse criticism of anyone or anything than that word. I suppose in my mother's days we never went to hotels anyway, it was not in her spoken vocabulary.

I am constantly upset by the misuse of words on the BBC. The special financial expert usually gets his words and tenses right, but has the most unusual language rythms, I find myself holding my breath. Lately I also think he has not said anything new for weeks. After he has shouted for 5 minutes we are none the wiser.

Do you mean Robert Peston - what a ham that man is - good information but the pauses are quite peculiar- makes him an easy target for the impersonators.

Does anyone bristle when comperes/comedians etc say to the audience 'laygenamen' for ladies and gentlemen - lazy!

I think he has been taking lessons in breathing properly in between phrases instead of in the middle of them- he was almost bearable last time I saw him. Maybe I'm getting acclimatised.

I have should of rather than should have , and them instead of those

I think you must be right, Elegran, about Robert Peston taking lessons - he's definitely easier to listen to these days. Unless we're both just getting acclimatised, of course!

I read an article on Robert Peston not long ago; He had a very bad stutter and has overcome it - maybe that's why he talks as he does.

And now there is a weatherman (on BBC1, I think) who has the same annoying type of speech.

Several of the weather persons appear to have discovered new areas of the country, e.g. Eas Tanglia, Norther Nengland and of course that chunk of land off the west coast called Island.

And on Radio 5Live, my station-of-choice on a Saturday afternoon to listen to the footie, there are often references to a team I can't quite place: Manchu Nited ...

The one that hs me hurling invective at the screen is 'kiLOMmiter' - when Noah Webster simplified some American spelling he made a boo-boo, and words ending in -metre and those -ending in -meter were merged, despite the fact that they are pronounced differently and refer to discrete ranges of things.

-meter nouns refer to measuring instruments - -metre words to units of measure. -meter nouns are accented like therMOMeter, -metre words like DEcimetre.

We don't say MilLIMiter or CenTIMiter... (although most Eglish speakers get 'altimeter' wrong).

I think that is exactly what happened with "an orange". The Spanish is naranja and at some point it morphed into an orange rather than a norange. Mind you my son in Spain had a child in his English class who cried when he heard orange is pronounced orinj, because his English teacher at school had told him it was pronounced oranghay.

Yes, Mamie! In olden times, it was "an newt" and "a napron". Oh dear, I do know some useless stuff!

Discreet versus discrete? Often misused on forums.

I loath and detest "passed over" and other recent substitutes for the fact that some one died - where has this come from!

And when they say "it's a mute point, rather than "moot" it annoys me out of all proportion to the offence!

Pennysue I'm with you there. Since Mr.G died I have had a lot of odd looks from people as I insist on saying he's dead/ has died. I find 'passing away' or 'passing over' too twee for words. I am known for calling a spade a shovel but am sticking to my guns on this one
AND, what about the weather girls/boys and their 'bits and pieces of rain'. Since when is rain a bit or a piece?? AND, I wish they wouldn't tell me at the end of each broadcast - to 'take care' and 'have a good day'or 'see you soon'
AND, I wish they would dress in a more becoming way - not as if they're off to a cocktail party - sitting on the Breakfast sofa with their skirts up round their ar...es at 7 in the morning is enough to put me off my weetabix (ok I expect the men like it!)
Phew, that's better

Oh, I agree, Gally! Some of the women presenters look as though they've been out all night clubbing and haven't bothered to change...

Posh people and politicians say ta instead of to. Listen to Miliband, Cameron and Clegg. e.g. I'm going ta reach out ta the voter.

I do wish presenters of all kinds would stop saying 'fith' instead of 'fifth'. It's almost as though they think that's the correct way to pronounce it....

Gally I am also intrigued by "organised rain". Who did that?

Pennysue and Gally - I agree about silly ways of saying someone has died. I just say they died: passed or passed away are just pointless expressions. If people don't like it - tough. The words are nowhere near as harsh as the fact.

As for bad pronunciation by people who are paid to get it right, such as news readers, it is just as bad here in Australia where there are hardly any regional differences in speech. Some of them sound like strangled chooks (chickens).

gally I say the same 'he died 9years ago'
I had some salesman recently asking to speak to mr jeni, I replied ' I hope you know a good medium then'. His response '?'.

Greatnan or should that be "fora"?? Perhaps a pedant step too far?

A presenter on the 'William and Kate 'programme announced that
Anglesey is a small island off of Wales.!!