Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Stupidification Of America

It continues, even when people try to push back. Case in point: ABC's Christiane Amanpour casually and correctly used “perspicacious” on TV, a word more people have read than heard. Someone at ABC came to the same conclusion, and either the segment was pre-recorded or they were quick off the blocks, for a nifty little definition block popped up to enlighten wondering viewers -- and prompted online snark warning her to "avoid such fancy language" lest viewers mistake her program "for a Rosetta Stone class teaching the English language."

Yeah. 'Cos if the proles had more than an 800-word vocabulary, who knows what they might get up to?

Sheesh.
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8 comments:

  1. Wayne ConradJuly 24, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    I know I'm not aiding my defense by asking this, but: what's wrong with "astute?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Turk TuronJuly 24, 2011 at 12:03 PM

    It was prerecorded.

    My favorite was when she referred to the late Clarence Clemmons as "the noted sax-AH-fun-ist for the E-Street Band."

    Today she said "mee-grain".

    I watch the show every week.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Roberta XJuly 24, 2011 at 12:10 PM

    Um, "mee-grain" is the BBC-English pronunciation. She's on here own with the sax, I think.

    I was thinkin' you tried never to miss it. Gotta be better than the pap on NBC/CBS in the same time slot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJuly 24, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    "acuity of vision or thought" immediately lept to mind. Am I right? What do I win? I gotta go look it up now an d see if I'm close.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 24, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    Me again. Leaped? Leapt? Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJuly 24, 2011 at 9:03 PM

    Me again.

    I looked it up in Merriam-Webster:

    "of acute mental vision or discernment"

    Close enough for guvamint work. Where do I collect my prize? Jeez, it's a sunday evening; I have no life.

    ReplyDelete
  7. KevinJuly 25, 2011 at 9:57 AM

    I snarked about it a little myself. It's just another illustration of the dumbing-down of America. Remember, journalists are supposed to write for an audience with an eighth-grade education.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dr. FeelgoodJuly 25, 2011 at 12:01 PM

    Then again, there's the counter-example of media outlets projecting their own stupidity on consumers. In an article on the upcoming presidential caucus, my local fishwrap quotes Sen. Grassley referring to "Obama and Carter." The editor parenthetically inserted (Jimmy). Is there another of whom I'm unaware?

    Also, he should have used brackets.

    ReplyDelete

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