bring media literacy back pls

@RodneyTrotter1 I did notice one pronounciation (not spelling) error in the News a couple of weeks ago:

It was the Llangollen Canal whose bank collapsed, not as we heard, the "Langolen" Canal!

They usually get it right but did I notice that one even though I am not Welsh; but I bet there were a few epithets aimed at radios in Llanymynech, Llanelli, etc.

@ArishMell I bet there were! Simple English grammar spoken by people who speak English as their first language isn't asking much.
Another thing that I find annoying and which causes me to change the channel is that irritating new accent that they've invented, it's like a cross between a drunk Jamaican and a cockney infant that's learning to talk, it should be nowhere near TV or radio but it's everywhere.

@RodneyTrotter1 Oh,I have not had the misfortune to hear that. It's not the affectation called "Estuary English", is it?

Some Americanisms don't even make sense. "Double down" was originally a gambling term so means something there, but if I hear someone described as "doubling down on...", is he or she multiplying by two or halving, whatever it is?

While motive and motivation mean different things, an epicentre is not a centre, a seismic shift does not exist, and inspirational is merely ugly.

@ArishMell I think it's known as Jafaican, a fake Jamaican accent used by the young generation and started in London. It really is horrendous.
A prime example is the football pundit Clinton Morrison and he's in his 40s, old enough to have grown up!

Double down should stay within gambling, it's horrible and makes me imaging someone bending over.
Two examples, which have disappeared for now, are 'gifting' and 'guesting'.but the ones which drive me mad are 'a work in progress', 'forever home' and the painfully grotesque 'my bad' which should be punishable by duct taping of the mouth.

@RodneyTrotter1 The whole idea of "Jafaican" sounds grim- and might be insulting to real Jamaicans. I suppose it's like "Estuary English" and "Received Pronounciation" (RP) - both put on for effect.

They dropped the practice years ago, but radio dramas used to help you differentiate between characters by stereotyped attempts at regional accents:

Military staff-officers, landed gentry, senior directors, respectable ladies: RP, clipped for military types.

NCO and police officers: clipped "Lunnon".

Rank-and-file (army privates, police constables, less-respectable women) : sort of Cockney.

Manual workers: "Oop North" for factory staff, miners - (Aye oop lad!)

- except Scots, or an attempt at it, for marine engineers. (Och aye)

Farmers, ordinary seamen / fishermen / pirates : parodies of SW English. (Oo-arrrrh).


The worst for rubbishy jargon are probably middle-managers trying to sound clever. A lot of their thinking outside the box about running it past you going forward, likely originates as innocent metaphors by individuals, but which become as infectious as a cold virus.

Even worse is using as metaphors, technical terms without understanding them. It sounds daft, even conveys a totally wrong message:

"We're seeing an exponential growth in..." Really? Or merely rapid but random?

"I want us to be at the epicentre of...". Not if you knew what is an epicentre, you wouldn't, even metaphorically.