Obscure Box
No wonder the English language is doomed
One of the many mistakes journalists make is to mix their singular and their plurals. It can be difficult, especially in sport when a player is but the team are. But the greatest offence is when the writer uses both singular and plural language on the same subject. Take this line from a blog: “In [...]
The hunt for language blunders in journalism
I will begin with a confession. My early years in journalism included working for one weekly newspaper where as a poorly-paid and overworked junior hack I would also have to file the odd piece for the advertising department. These advertorials usually began with a phone call to whoever was paying for the advertorial, where I [...]
It's just not English
The poor soul following the G20 summit in London for the ABC got a bit confused over what’s English… and what’s not. On radio in Trouble at the G20 meeting in London, PM’s presenter Mark Colvin asked reporter Lyndal Curtis about a meal cooked up by a celebrity chef and served to the G20 leaders. [...]