eh?

July 15, 2004 8:43 AM

Words: Woe & Wonder The CBC explains and debates usage from a Canadian-journalism standpoint - for example, why the Iraqi ex-leader is referred to by his first name and whether to capitalize this place.
posted by casarkos (8 comments total)

Are any other news orgs as obsessive about pronunciation and word usage as the CBC? Chancing to hear a segment where CBC reporters and producers start talking about the subject on the air is jaw-droppingly dull, but compelling in an obsessive nerd sort of way. They've actually done a quiz where the on-air people compete on who is the most consistently correct word ... guys.
posted by Space Coyote at 9:15 AM on July 15, 2004

Wow... that is, perhaps, one of the best arguments I've seen for using "Saddam" by itself. Very cool.

Thanks!
posted by silusGROK at 9:43 AM on July 15, 2004

haha, that's great. i heart the cbc nerds. thanks casarkos !
posted by t r a c y at 9:52 AM on July 15, 2004

Eugh. This mangling of the rules of the English language is grotesque. 'internet'?

There's only one Internet in common use, therefore the word should remain capitalised, much like we capitalise 'Rome', 'Paris', or the 'Pentagon'. If the BBC and the CBC want to drop the rule of capitalising proper nouns, then I'd encourage them to follow through on this ridiculousness and drop capitalisation on every proper noun.

I know consistency is not English's strong point, but seeing as these people used to get it right, why can't they stick to the rules?(!)
posted by wackybrit at 10:16 AM on July 15, 2004

The BBC has the grandmother of all style guides, but I think the CBC's is the more interesting. Not that I'm biased or anything.
posted by bonehead at 10:18 AM on July 15, 2004

This is very cool, thanks.

I didn't want to work this afternoon, anyway.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:52 AM on July 15, 2004

Time to dive into the nerdy archive. Splash!
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:23 PM on July 15, 2004

The writers of the what-to-call-him piece ("...uses both versions on its Web site") should read the should-we-capitalize piece ("...we've made a few changes around here, and now it's a 'web page'"). [My emphasis.]
posted by kirkaracha at 1:07 PM on July 15, 2004