News weaders than can't pwonounce the letter "R"

[singlecoil]

Anyone else noticed that people with this speech impediment seem to be disproportionately represented in the BBC? We get the local news from BBC East, unfortunately, and the girl this morning was telling us about a 'loh-wee fire that was causing a twaffic pwoblem'. I can't imagine that people like this would have got such a job years ago, but now, perhaps, they are benefitting from 'affirmative action'?

[ChiChoAndy]

Yes, there was a memo from head office making people who can't say their R's a priority.

[Pints]

I made the observation quite a while back that many BBC news presenters or other talk-show hosts had some speech impediment or another.

I'm not an oil painting, so I didn't take up modelling. If you can't pronounce words properly, you shouldn't be reading the news to millions.

[Eric Mc]

I think it's a very English ting - although it probably started with the Womans.

[Pints]

Eric Mc said:

I think it's a very English ting - although it probably started with the Womans.

You'll want to try listening to an english newscast in South Africa. Even as a South African, I can barely understand what's being said.

[FourWheelDrift]

Since sacking Jonathan Woss the BBC have a surplus of W's that they need to get rid of before they pass their use by date and be branded a waste of licence payer money. Therefore a number of newsreaders have each been given a bundle of extra W's to use up as when they see fit.

[Ace-T]

Just shows the Beeb can't tell their 'R's from their elbow...

[Jasandjules]

ChiChoAndy said:

Yes, there was a memo from head office making people who can't say their R's a priority.

Well, a speech impediment of one kind or another, a lisp is also acceptable.

[Nicholas Blair]

Positive discrimination at every turn

[kiteless]

Ace-T said:

Just shows the Beeb can't tell their 'R's from their elbow...

So twue

[Eric Mc]

Pints said:

Eric Mc said:

I think it's a very English ting - although it probably started with the Womans.

You'll want to try listening to an english newscast in South Africa. Even as a South African, I can barely understand what's being said.

And leaving the "h" out of "thing" is very Irish

[Halb]

It's just that the BBC is more representative now and RP has not gotten the stranglehold that it once had, affirmative action! The BBC is now thankfully more regional. A lot of people have soft 'r's in the North West, listen to some of the Take That crew. I am waiting for a news broadcaster from Leigh/Wigan, with a think guttural accent, we won't have equality till that happens!!

[singlecoil]

Halb said:

It's just that the BBC is more representative now and RP has not gotten the stranglehold that it once had, affirmative action! The BBC is now thankfully more regional. A lot of people have soft 'r's in the North West, listen to some of the Take That crew. I am waiting for a news broadcaster from Leigh/Wigan, with a think guttural accent, we won't have equality till that happens!!

Well, it may be that some regional accents call for 'r's to be 'softened', but in the cases I am thinking of, these are speech impediments, not dialects or regional accents.

[Halb]

singlecoil said:

Halb said:

It's just that the BBC is more representative now and RP has not gotten the stranglehold that it once had, affirmative action! The BBC is now thankfully more regional. A lot of people have soft 'r's in the North West, listen to some of the Take That crew. I am waiting for a news broadcaster from Leigh/Wigan, with a think guttural accent, we won't have equality till that happens!!

Well, it may be that some regional accents call for 'r's to be 'softened', but in the cases I am thinking of, these are speech impediments, not dialects or regional accents.

I think those with the gutteral Lancashire accent have this issue, it's noticle in parts of Manchester.
I myself wish I could make the 'rreeeggrrrreeeell' sound from Wayne's World....I cannot

[singlecoil]

Halb said:

singlecoil said:

Halb said:

It's just that the BBC is more representative now and RP has not gotten the stranglehold that it once had, affirmative action! The BBC is now thankfully more regional. A lot of people have soft 'r's in the North West, listen to some of the Take That crew. I am waiting for a news broadcaster from Leigh/Wigan, with a think guttural accent, we won't have equality till that happens!!

Well, it may be that some regional accents call for 'r's to be 'softened', but in the cases I am thinking of, these are speech impediments, not dialects or regional accents.

I think those with the gutteral Lancashire accent have this issue, it's noticle in parts of Manchester.
I myself wish I could make the 'rreeeggrrrreeeell' sound from Wayne's World....I cannot

Well, maybe this (and some other) newsreaders are from Lancashire, but the rest of the accent was missing, only the inability to pronounce 'r's correctly remains.

[Halb]

singlecoil said:

Well, maybe this (and some other) newsreaders are from Lancashire, but the rest of the accent was missing, only the inability to pronounce 'r's correctly remains.

Yes. I understand that with some people it's not their upbringing, with hard work accents can be overcome. Ross, is he physcially incapble of saying his 'r's?

[doogalman]

When i left school in 1977, to the best of my memory there was not a single person that appeared to have an impediment with their speech. I am sure that our all boys secondary school wasn't quite in the same leage as Eton, but i cam only put the increasing pronounciation issues down to a, lazy parenting and b, poor education.
If we as children pronounced words incorrectly either at school or home we were hauled up on it and corrected. I can only assume this practice does not happen anymore. I am so tired of the ineptitude of figures within the media.

[Halb]

doogalman said:

When i left school in 1977, to the best of my memory there was not a single person that appeared to have an impediment with their speech. I am sure that our all boys secondary school wasn't quite in the same leage as Eton, but i cam only put the increasing pronounciation issues down to a, lazy parenting and b, poor education.
If we as children pronounced words incorrectly either at school or home we were hauled up on it and corrected. I can only assume this practice does not happen anymore. I am so tired of the ineptitude of figures within the media.

You think a speech impediment is poor education? That reminds me of my brother, he is left handed, I recall my mum saying he would get a whack with a stick to force him to use his right hand.

[Eric Mc]

And I bet he was grateful

[Papa Hotel]

Newsweaders awen't the worst, for childwens' TV pwesentas it actually does seem to be part of the wecwuitment pwocess to hire those with spech impediments. At least, that's been my observation since I was a small kid.