Tuesday, August 04, 2009

The other night, listening to a radio programme about new film releases, I heard the presenter call the French actress (or actor) Audrey Tautou, "Audrey Tattoo". I have yet to hear a speaker on British radio or TV pronounce this lady's name correctly; it's always "Tattoo". Why? Are they too lazy to pronounce it correctly, or do they think it funny to mispronounce it?
On the other hand, calling the late Serge Gainsbourg "Surge Gainsborough" doesn't bother me at all. I could think up a lot of worse names to call that sleazy article. I assume I'm in a minority here, considering the reverence with which the old degenerate is treated by our cultural arbiters.
Posted by at

2 comments:

Chris Hall said...

I think it's preferable to the presenter putting on a mock accent which murders the original tongue and leaves them with a little bit of dribble from the corner of their mouth.

How the BBC pronounce Sarkozy is an example. Sounds bloody ridiculous. Might get them a part on any Allo! Allo! remake in the offing though.

Mind you, reporting on Ian Paisley or Canaan Banana would be a hoot as they sruggle with the conflict between respect and caricature.

12:35 pm
Jemmy Hope said...

Well Sarkozy's name is Hungarian, so however they mangle it they'll upset some nationality.
I have to admit being a bit touchy about the pronunciation of foreign names. I often get the impression that there's a bit of "aren't foreigners funny" going on.

4:07 pm

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)