Is there a right and wrong way to talk when you’re on TV?
Businessman and former government minister Lord Digby Jones says some broadcasters need elocution lessons, singling out those who drop their ‘g’s for particular criticism (Metro, Mon).
I think many of us share his frustration. Some people do it genuinely because of their linguistic background but it’s becoming an epidemic.
I suspect certain middle-class commentators adopt it to appear more woke or down to earth – the same with ‘swallowing’ your ‘t’s.
But Digby did spoil his argument slightly by writing ‘any more’ as a single word in his tweet, which is a horrible Americanism that is creeping in!
Michael, Kingston upon Thames
Lord Digby ‘exercises his free speech’ to criticise Alex Scott over her elocution but when people exercise their free speech and tell him to stop being a snob, the poor lad complains of being ‘cancelled’. It works both ways, Diggers!
Paul, London
There does appear to be a recent epidemic ‘on the air’ of presenters, pundits and interviewees using unusual ‘words’ like ‘everythink’, ’anythink’, and ‘somethink’. They don’t ‘rink’ true to me!
Alan Bayne, Fulham
So Lord Digby, who cannot pronounce ‘loch’ properly, is determined to have a universal pronunciation for Britain. Aye right, tell that to the Scousers, Aberdonians, Tynesiders and Welsh etc.
Albert, Edinburgh
Obviously this stuck-up peer is out of touch with the real world. This country has a multitude of dialects, which makes us individual and makes it enjoyable when people from other parts of the country converse and have to tune in.
At one time, in his era, if you did not speak like him you were considered common and of low intelligence.
Alan Massey, via email
Why do we have to have the awful London accent foisted upon us all the time? There are other people from other parts of the country.
Pat, London
While I love accents, the sole purpose of communication is to get your message across, especially when reporting something on the telly. It’s not reality TV!
I have an issue with a continuity announcer on the BBC – he doesn’t say the ‘th’ sound – so, for example Ve One Show, ‘free firty’. Effective communication
used to mean adjusting your tone, volume, diction, accent, vocabulary and facial expression if necessary.
Nowadays, everybody is set on who they are as a speaker, rather than focusing on who the recipient is.
It’s exactly the same when you talk to people at a call centre. The norm is to be greeted with a very rushed ‘da-di-da-dihah’ and I invariably have to re-ask the name and ask them to speak slowly.
I have a broad Yorkshire accent. I’ve never sought to change it as I’m proud to be from Yorkshire. I do, however, make adjustments when necessary – when I was a teacher in front of a class, talking to a child’s parent, to my friends, when I’m on the phone to people I don’t know.
If you don’t make the effort to speak clearly, not only is it bad manners and lazy, it’s also futile.
Heather, Bradford
Far too many TV and radio so-called presenters are mispronouncing words. They think it is cool – it’s just lazy. Peter O, Northwich
Soon we will have an alphabet minus the letters g and t and more Americanisms like ‘gotten’. Plus, sentences should never begin with a conjunction such as ‘so’.
Jane, via email
Perhaps we could start calling him ‘Diby’ Jones to further the point.