We’re speaking up for TV pundit Alex
I SUPPORT the knowledgeable and competent TV sports presenter Alex Scott, whose accent has been criticised by Lord (Digby) Jones (Mail). She reached the top of her field as a footballer at club and international level and is now building a successful media career. She doesn’t need to speak as a toffee-nosed, plum-in-the-mouth snob to connect with the viewers, most of whom have regional accents.
IVOR EVANS, Milford-on-Sea, Hants. BBC presenters used to all have perfectly honed upmarket or regional accents — except for Jonathan Ross and male pundits on Match Of The Day. Lord Jones is being rather selective over whom he chooses to criticise. Alex Scott has the kind of accent that is shared by many of our Olympic sportsmen and women.
DIANE SILVA, Bournemouth, Dorset. LORD Jones criticised the presenter Alex Scott for not pronouncing the letter ‘g’ at the end of her words. As a fellow Brummie, I have to tell him that when I was in the RAF, I was ragged by my comrades for emphasising the ‘g’ at the end of words, which is a common habit of speech in Birmingham. Whenever I was leaving the billet, they would ask me: ‘Are you going out walking?’
ROY HODSON, Bedford. IT’S not just dropping the letter ‘g’. Alex Scott and other presenters say ‘fink’ and ‘wevver’, so they don’t use the letters ‘t’ and ‘h’ either — or should that be eiver?
SALLY JONES, Ryde, Isle of Wight. ALEX SCOTT is right to be proud of her accent, but that doesn’t mean it’s OK to miss out the ‘g’ at the end of a word. I am proud of my Yorkshire accent and working-class background, but I was still taught how to speak properly. With a little bit of effort we can all speak grammatically and pronounce words correctly without losing our own accents.
SUSAN RICHARDSON, Sheffield. I DON’T object to Alex Scott’s accent, but I do wish the BBC would offer some media training to presenters who begin every sentence with ‘Yeah, I mean’. It is poor diction that is ruining the English language, not regional accents.