Weather
forecasters' superfluous language and babble
The trio of weather
forecasters appearing on BBC Weather forecasts in Scotland provide a very
welcome example of informative and well paced presentations. The content and style
of their presentations engages the listener or viewer. That contrasts with the
presentations made by presenters in England many of whom, but not all, tend to
lace their rushed delivery with superfluous phrases and babble. More
Posted:
170207 |  | A
letter to the editor of the Times from Chris Hunt Cooke on the "oddity of
some of the phrases used by weather forecasters" was published in the Times
on Monday 6th February 2017. The letter followed a piece by Carol Midgley in her
"Notebook" column in the Times on Friday 3rd February 2017 on a "pox
on TV weather forecasts" where forecasters tend to use their own version
of English to describe weather conditions and many, not all, tend to babble -
partly because the presentation includes so many superfluous phrases but also
a short time allocation.
In the in the Weather Eye column in the Times
on Tuesday 7th February 2017 Paul Simons makes a telling point about the oddity
of phrases used by weather forecast presenters. He notes audiences crave "plain
and simple information . . . stripped of superfluous language and delivered without
amateur dramatics" as "we want facts, not entertainment".
See
full set of articles |
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