Turtle pulling its head in

Dear loyal readers,

I'm pulling the Turtle's head in -- closing this site down -- for the following reasons:

Firstly, the ABC is coming under too much governmental and right-wing attack. See this article and all these. I would hate to do anything to give ammunition to these iconoclasts, ideologues and philistines who are out to privatise and destroy one of the world's greatest media institutions.

Secondly, my workload is too great and I'm consolidating. As Thoreau wrote, "Simplify! Simplify!" Any ABC-related material as it occurs will now be at my main blog, Wilson's Blogmanac. I invite you to subscribe to that for free.

Thirdly, since Turtles started, there has been a marked improvement as to the repetition of programs. Early on in this blog, I bemoaned the fact that Radio National programs were endlessly repeated, and I suggested that listeners would prefer something from the vaults rather than repeats of what we heard the day before. RN is trying, it seems. For example, at 5.30 AM we are getting some pretty good old British comedy such as 'My Word', 'The Goons' and my favourites, 'Just a Minute' and Sunday morning's 'I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue', which is a lot better than what we were getting before.

As a closing remark, I would hope that my criticisms over the past 20 months will not go unheeded. The ABC does need some attention in the matters I've raised. The standards of journalism and the use of our beautiful language have declined markedly over recent years, and if the ABC is to defend itself against te aforementioned enemies, it would do well to get its act together. Not a day passes without primary school errors being foisted upon Radio National listeners, and that simply is not good enough.

So, the time has come to leave this blog here as an archive, and I bid you happy travelling. Thank you for your supportive comments since I began 'Turtles All the Way Down'. I hope you enjoyed your time here, as I did.

Abundance and gratitude,

Pip Wilson

Tagged: scose, abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, journalism, radio+national

Towards the English language

Does ABC News employ a proofreader? If not, it should consider doing so.

'Toward' does not have the same meaning as 'towards' (at least, outside the USA) and 'to summons' does not mean the same as 'to summon'. Use a dictionary, please. Too easy.

While we're at it, 'Bathurst' is not pronounced 'BathURST', but 'Bath'st', and 'employer' is pronounced with the second syllable stressed, not 'employ-ERR'. All of the above primary school errors are frequently heard on ABC Radio National.

Tagged: scose, abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, journalism, radio+national

How to set up your radio system for The Night Air

I'm often asked what the best stereo system is for listening to Brent Clough's The Night Air on Radio National. The solution is not only very simple, but inexpensive, as it requires ordinary equipment usually found in the average Australian home.

I begin with an AM/FM radio, nothing special. If money is a problem, anything from a bargain centre will do, but if you have a state of the art hi-fi receiver, so much the better. Now, tune your radio to the appropriate frequency:

Adelaide 729AM. Brisbane 792AM. Canberra 846AM. Darwin 657AM.
Gold Coast 90.1FM. Hobart 585AM. Melbourne 621AM. Newcastle 1512AM.
Perth 810AM. Sydney 576AM.

Or, for a quality listening experience, if you live in a regional centre, as I do, look up the frequency:

NSW :: NT :: QLD :: SA :: TAS :: VIC :: WA

Now, position your radio near an open window. This will not necessarily improve reception, but will assist with the next step.

Tune your radio to the correct frequency. Adjust the volume to your preferred mode of listening. Experience has shown that the next step is the most important one for listening pleasure with The Night Air.

Taking care to maintain the best reception available, pick up your radio and hurl it out the window as quickly and as far as possible.

Tagged: abc, australia, australian, radio, radio+national

Junior high school stuff

NB Breakfast host: You can have a 'caricature', but you can't have a 'characterture', any more than you can "mitigate against" something. You might, however, 'militate against' something, or 'mitigate' something. Write 1,000 lines.

Tagged: scose, abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, journalism, radio+national

Eyes wide glazed

Because Geraldine did a good piece last week, about Al Qaeda and Hezbollah, which I saw as a surprising departure from desperately boring and obsolete bits on sport and financial services, I intend this weekend to have another crack at Saturday Brekkie.

Tagged: abc, australia, radio, journalism, radio+national

Religion and belligerence

Can anyone explain why ABC Radio National News calls Hezbollah "Muslim militants", but the Government of Israel "the Government of Israel"?

The Auntie Guillotine

Have you heard of the Auntie Guillotine?

It goes something like this, during your average interview on ABC Radio National:

Interviewee: "... and then after my daughter committed suicide and my house burned down, I had a nervous breakdow--"

ABC interviewer: "Thank you, Ethel Snape. We now cross to Kylie Squirts, our gardening correspondent in Wagga Wagga, for a look at rhododendron blight. Hi there, Kylie!"

For years, Auntie experimented with such segues as "Well, our time is running out, and unfortunately we'll have to move on, but thank you, Ethel Snape for giving so freely of your time to us and our listeners" (then wait for Mrs Snape to say "OK" and "goodbye") then "Goodbye, and thank you again for doing this interview at no charge".

However, techniques of these kinds simply did not have the rude abruptness required, and over several months a working party developed Auntie's patented guillotine, which does the chop with all necessary brutality. The new method has been taken up with alacrity, even by the under-50s reporters and presenters who have yet to learn what alacrity is.

Tagged: abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, journalism, radio+national

Fo-sigh!

As is well known, before one can gain a degree in Sociology or Cultural Studies, one must master more than just the ability to "unpack a text" (or pack a pomo multisyllable).

No degrees are awarded to any person who clings to the abhorrent practice of saying "forums". It's fora or the door. (And you'll never get a job on ABC unless you can speak pomo.) We're all prepared for fora. Of course, we wonder whether those academics and journalists take their children to circi to see the elephants and clowns.

Nothing, however, could have prepared me for "fo-sigh" -- that's how the chap being interviewed pronounced "focuses" ... I mean, 'foci'. Did I say 'focuses'? I do beg your pardon.

These are the sorts of people who I love to hear say "platypi", as they believe it's the plural of 'platypus'. Of course, they're about three feet up their own bums, because they don't realise that the platypus has a Greek name, not a Latin one. Thus the plural form doesn't look like the plural of 'cactus'. The '-pus' ending is Greek for 'foot', and 'platy' means flat. It's 'platypodae', not 'platypi', but I really don't think it's sporting to tell these Sunday pundits. Fo-sigh!

Reclaiming possession of the mother tongue

Mr Abbas has a house. The house is Mr Abbas's. It isn't Mr Abba's house. Not yet. Mr Abba wants the house, but he will not have it unless he takes it. If it should become Mr Abba's house and Mr Abbas reclaims it, the house will be Mr Abbas's again.

Does anyone else wonder why so many ABC people get the possessive wrong? For example, "Sydney is New South Wale's capital city". No it is not. Surely it is New South Wales's capital. And Alan Jone doesn't have a radio program: Alan Jones has one, so the program is Alan Jones's -- it is not Alan Jone's program.

And on Breakfast this morning, Damascus's became Damasca's. There is, as far as I know, no city called 'Damasca'.

Perhaps SCOSE (the ABC's Standing Committee on Spoken English) might have a little training session with ABC writers and speakers. The average ABC employee should be able to learn about possession in, oh, I should think two or three day-long workshops at the outside.

Tagged: scose, abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, journalism, radio+national

Missal?

Tomorrow, Tuesday, is the Fourth of July. Maybe this is why today we hear on The World Today the word "missile" pronounced as Americans would pronounce it.

May we have our Australia back on Wednesday after your fireworks show, please Auntie?

Tagged: scose, abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, journalism, radio+national

The ABC screeching blackboard experience

We all like crisp, accurate and clear expression, and we all want the ABC to be a role model of crispness, accuracy and clarity.

Thus we prefer it when presenters say "whence" rather than the tautological "from whence", and "whether" rather than "whether or not". For "whence" means "from where" (as in "I am going back whence I came"), and "whether or not" should only be used when particular emphasis is required. "Whether" is sufficient almost all the time.

And when we hear (as on Asia Pacific this morning) "But nevertheless" beginning a sentence, we have a right to wish that the redundant "But" had not been tacked on the front. "Nevertheless" stands alone, requiring no extra word to give it its meaning.

When alleged users of English write "But neverthless", can "Nevertheless but" be far away?

These are things children the English-speaking world over learn before they leave primary school, so it's natural that when paid ABC journalists and presenters get them wrong time after time, day in and day out, we should feel like we did as kids when the chalk squeaked on the blackboard.

Tagged: scose, abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, journalism, radio+national

It's not rocket surgery

To Australia Talks Back (June 27, 2006):

'Criterion' is the singular; 'criteria' is the plural.

People haven't 'rang in', they have 'rung in'.

There, that wasn't very hard, was it?

Tagged: scose, abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, journalism, radio+national

Out of his depth

Counterpoint presenter Michael Duffy (June 26, 2006) asks why, if people don't protest when killer whales kill humpback whales, they should protest when Japanese fishing companies do.

If you don't understand by now, Mr Duffy, don't mess with it.

Tagged: abc, australia, radio, journalism, radio+national

Be assured. Be very, very assured

Yesterday ABC Radio National News used the word 'sovereignity'. I feel we can be pretty much assured that the word 'sovereignty' was meant, and that no new word has been coined without our noticing. I'm sure it's just an ABC journalism thing.

Tagged: scose, abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, grammar, spelling, pronunciation, journalism, radio+national

Exactly

Heard on Radio National's Rear Vision last week: "While tobacco use goes back thousands of years, its modern use is a recent phenomenon."

Learning Latin with Country Breakfast

Heard on Country Breakfast this morning, in an interview with a farmer of Australian bush tucker plants (paraphrase):

Interviewer: "So, the Finger lime is Microcitrus australien ... Micro, that would mean 'small'? Citrus: 'citrus-like'. And australien ... that would be 'Australian'?"

Farmer: "Yes."

Asked without a hint of irony, and it's not a show for primary school children.

Tagged: abc, australia, australian, english, language, radio, journalism, radio+national