English - wrote good, spoke crook!

During ABC news, often I hear phrases such as: “Thousands were AT today’s welcome home ceremony”; might they have been AWAY from it? The subject of that sentence is “ceremony” and adjacent words support or develop the statement.

“TO the weather now, and strong winds are expected …”.The stress should be on “weather”.

“We cross now to bushfire headquarters FOR the latest on the fires”. Nooooo! “Fires” are what the story is about.

During one recent broadcast, it was reported that “police will crack down on late night drinking IN Newcastle”; not OUT of Newcastle? In the same report, I heard a spokesperson from Orange describing how proposed rain water harvesting would direct more water “TO the city”. It’s good to hear it’s not going FROM the city.

Stressing the nouns rather than supporting prepositions is important, and society is influenced by the language of those to whom it listens; the trend is to ape the stylists - monkey hear, monkey say!

Good speech is often reserved for formal occasions, but ought to be commonplace. Some folk view well-spoken people as snobbish, but isn’t that just the “tall poppy” syndrome? Surely it is easier to understand and enjoy the discourse of linguistic “snobs”, than that of verbally lazy “yobs”?

Australians grow careless about the way they express themselves, and not just colloquially. But colloquial speech may express the feelings of a speaker aptly; a beautiful sunset can be described as honestly by: “what a ripper” as the more formal: “a truly glorious sunset”. There is a strong difference in personal rapport between: “good morning” and “ower ya goin’, mate - orright?”

Much delicious irony and humour exists in everyday speech, including the exaggeration of accent to create comedy; comedians often have excellent comprehension of language.

Correct speech is what is correct for an occasion, but this means knowing how to say something effectively, rather than being ignorant, lazy, and saying it badly. Applying the rules of speech and grammar properly is not being pedantic, merely knowledgeable about their use. However, Winston Churchill once joked: “ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put!”

Language has rules for similar reasons as sport; without them there is confusion. What’s the difference between splitting an infinitive and kicking a cricket ball into touch? Match point!

I have a close friend who, although not born in an English-speaking country, has mastered its grammar and structure to a greater degree than many “locals,” including me. It is a delight to talk with him, particularly about abstract subjects, and when he comments on inappropriate word use, it is interesting to remember that English was not his mother tongue.

Those for whom it is not a first language, probably gain needs-driven comprehension to a greater extent than local linguists who just copy their peers. Imitation reduces awareness of “correctness”, or that what they are hearing, therefore learning, could be corrupted. Being multi-lingual, or at least studying another language is a decided help, but not essential, in appreciating English use and subtleties