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PROGRAMME INFO |
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Michael Rosen presents Radio 4's open door on the world of words and the way we speak. Email: word.of.mouth@bbc.co.uk |
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LISTEN AGAIN |
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PRESENTER |
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"As a child, I was surrounded by people talking about words and language, my
parents and brother spoke several languages. What's more the house always
seemed to be full of people telling stories and jokes, many of which turned
on some word-play or other.
I've been writing poems and stories since I was sixteen and if that doesn't
sensitise you to how language is used then nothing will. So with all that,
to present Word of Mouth feels like being at home. I love it."
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PROGRAMME DETAILS |
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Bereavement Words
It's common, when someone dies, for people to avoid the words death, dead or died and reach for euphemisms like gone before or passed over. Michael is joined by Bristol GP Dr Mary Ann Steiner, Funeral Director John Weir and Counsellor Eric Starr of Cruse Bereavement Care to discuss the language we use to talk about the end of life.
Just the Job?
The official unemployment figures may be at a record low but listener Nigel Coulthard wonders how anyone finds work when the language of job advertisements is so impenetrable. He takes as his example an advert for an interventions coordinator to create facilitated interventions in a unique mediation environment at the London School of Economics. What can they mean and how on earth would one apply?
Gobbledygook
Do you long for politicians to use words that ring with truth and meaning? Do your eyes glaze over when you read a letter from your bank? Do you feel your brain close down when you hear your boss start talking about making a commitment to going forwards? You're not alone.
Don Watson was a speech-writer for the notoriously straight-talking Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating, and he's on a mission to stop cliches, sludge and management-speak from strangling our public language. He tells Michael why he believes the way the language of the boardroom is seeping into the mouths of our politicians and public officials, amounts to a human rights abuse.
Trouser Talk
When we talk about who wears the trousers, we are talking about much more than clothes. The language that surrounds this particular garment is thick with undertones of sex and power - think not just of who wears the trousers but all mouth and no trousers or still in short trousers. The Guardian's Fashion Editor, Jess Cartner Morley, examines the language of trousers. What are the fashion conscious really saying when they wear palazzo pants in preference to slacks or drain pipes instead of Oxford bags?
Come and see Word of Mouth in action!
The Word of Mouth team are recording two programmes for the next series at the Cheltenham Festival during the afternoon of October 15th.
If you can be in Cheltenham that day and have a question about language or usage you'd like ask our panel of experts to answer, then please e-mail the programme at word.of.mouth@bbc.co.uk, putting the word Cheltenham in the subject header.
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