Clearly the Gazette's price increase to 90 cents hasn't been used to upgrade their editors' skills. First spotted on the
BIAW Forums, a Saturday headline once read:
'You don't chose music – it chose music you'
but now it's the easier-to-read but still-poor:
'You don't chose music – it choses you'
However, people berate the young people for poor grammar and spelling; when often it's the adults, particularly those in position to set a good example such as the Gazette, who can't phrase a praragraph so that it at least looks a little like it was written by someone whose first language was English. We haven't outsourced our reporters and editors to India or Hong Kong yet, have we?
2 comments:
WHOA! I find that outsourcing bit very offensive. People know so little about India that they automatically assume English is not spoken nor taught there. But here's a little education for you!
English has been taught in India since the British rule. Until 1969 India had the Brit system of education in their schools (O Levels & A Levels). Unlike here in Bda, Indians are taught the Queen's English. Please dont say its the same here cause it's not. I have no idea what kind of English is taught here but children being taught how to spell POTATO with an E at the end is NOT the Queen's English. I have many more examples...but it would take me forever. Needless to say, the quality of English taught there is stringent. It starts in Kindergarten. A grade 1 Indian student would put a Bda kid to shame if you were to put them both to a writing test.
So before you say something like 'outsource to India', you should really do your research. I guarantee you that if in fact The Royal Gazette had outsourced its reporters to India, I'd never have to do a double take while reading the paper here.
I suggest you check out some of India's newspapers by Indian born & bred reporters. It puts Bermuda to shame!
www.timesofindia.com
http://www.thehindu.com/
oh And I learnt my English in India...read through my blogs more specifically the links below and you shall see.
http://underthebermudasun.blogspot.com/2007/02/do-you-speak-american.html
http://underthebermudasun.blogspot.com/2007/10/dear-editor.html
Potato was always spelled that way during my schooling in Bermuda (age 15, GCSEs), mind you I haven't done a poll of teachers recently to see if they spell it incorrectly. Maybe some parents or teachers can contribute on their experiences here. We all know about poor Dan Quayle's mess-ups, and he was one step away from the U.S. presidency at one point!
In India, English is an official language so it's most likely wrong to assume that Indians can't spell English words.
Chalk my faux pas to my dealings with tech support overseas - I frequently read e-mails where words are incorrectly placed within sentences.
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