# NPR trivialities **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918 "2020-12-12T19:27:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/41 "2020-12-14T14:46:55Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > For years, maybe decades, I have noticed that a spectrum of folks, from all kinds of areas of expertise, when called upon on NPR, and some other outlets, to speak on an important matter, begin with that word. But the word is not part of normal speech between conversants. It’s more like a broadcasting convention now. For me I’ve heard it too many times to think it’s a spontaneous coincidence. Underlining added. Where are you that “so” is not a part of normal speech? Where I’m at in southern California, “so” is as common in regular speech as “and” and “but”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/42 "2020-12-14T16:44:59Z")
Just wanted to mention [Irrational Public Radio](https://irrationalpublicradio.com/podcast/), a mostly defunct (but still available) public radio parody podcast. They absolutely nail that NPR delivery style. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/43 "2020-12-14T16:55:55Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Another oft-invoked name is the The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. My kid was working at the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, and I told him that when people asked him where he worked, he could drop into that PBS announcer voice and say _“My salary is brought to me by Robert Wood Johnson… and viewers like you.”_ I will confess that my inner 12-year old does a bit of a Beavis and Butthead thing whenever I hear about the Robert Wood Johnson foundation. Which is terrible because I am sure that they are wonderful people who do great work. But on the other hand “wood” and “Johnson” … ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/44 "2020-12-14T17:30:08Z")
Another thing I noticed (and this may well be part of their style guide). Whenever a foreign word comes up in a story, it seems like the reporters always to to great effort to pronounce it the way a native speaker of that language would. I’m sure they must spend time practicing the correct pronunciation before going on the air. > [@zimaane](#): > > I will confess that my inner 12-year old does a bit of a Beavis and Butthead thing whenever I hear about the Robert Wood Johnson foundation. You mean I’m not the only one who does that? Huh huh, you said “wood Johnson”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/45 "2020-12-14T17:34:00Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > I will confess that my inner 12-year old does a bit of a Beavis and Butthead thing whenever I hear about the Robert Wood Johnson foundation. Which is terrible because I am sure that they are wonderful people who do great work. But on the other hand “wood” and “Johnson” … My inner 12-year-old gets all excited when I’m told “This program has been made possible by [Foundation X], [Company Y]… **and listeners like you**.” Aww…listeners like me! Thanks for the validation, NPR listeners! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/46 "2020-12-14T17:34:23Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Whenever a foreign word comes up in a story, it seems like the reporters always to to great effort to pronounce it the way a native speaker of that language would. I’m sure they must spend time practicing the correct pronunciation before going on the air. Probably got tired of people calling/commenting/tweeting that they said it wrong. But it’s something that’s been around for a while and not only on NPR. SNL in the 80s did a bit about news network anchors exaggerating pronunciations (neee-ka-rrrah-GOOO-ah) – of course many including Dan Rather himself were notorious for taking it too far and doing things like pronouncing “Cartagena” as “Cartageña”. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/47 "2020-12-14T17:39:35Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Another thing I noticed (and this may well be part of their style guide). Whenever a foreign word comes up in a story, it seems like the reporters always to to great effort to pronounce it the way a native speaker of that language would. I’m sure they must spend time practicing the correct pronunciation before going on the air. Relatedly, reporters with non-English-speaking backgrounds always seem to pronounce their own names in a way that almost seems exaggerated. Mandalik del Barco, for example, will do a story in English and then sign off as if she is introducing herself to the King of Spain. Now, it’s her name and she can say it as she pleases, but it’s noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/48 "2020-12-14T17:42:42Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > a little more personality to deliver the Sunday puzzle than Will Shortz. I like Will Shortz fine. I find the puzzles dull. I hate “word” puzzles that are centered on spelling. Spelling is arbitrary. I know how to spell things but irrelevant coincidences like “words that have vowels in alphabetical order” is not at all interesting to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/49 "2020-12-14T17:48:07Z")
That may be a consequence of needing puzzles that work well in an audio-only format. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/50 "2020-12-14T18:06:38Z")
You can ask about meaning, history, usage, etymology in an audio format. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/51 "2020-12-14T18:30:01Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > Relatedly, reporters with non-English-speaking backgrounds always seem to pronounce their own names in a way that almost seems exaggerated. Mandalik del Barco, for example, will do a story in English and then sign off as if she is introducing herself to the King of Spain. Now, it’s her name and she can say it as she pleases, but it’s noticeable. It may only “almost seems exaggerated” because of the immediate contrast between them speaking a very fluent English through the report, then saying their own name in their own native speech, rather than the way an anglophone would. As in, someone who always spoke with a very distinct accent would not sound as odd? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/52 "2020-12-14T19:06:29Z")
old enough remember when they had no ads. Now they have almost as many as commercial stations. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/53 "2020-12-14T19:28:18Z")
I hear using “So…” as a convention that is not intuitive or grammatical, but an intentional interjection that may even be heard as dismissive in tone, of the questioner, **if outside the context of the broadcast interview.** I started hearing it so often in that same context around the same time that I can’t hear it as just the movement of language usage over time. I listened all the time and it wasn’t organic or natural, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/54 "2020-12-14T19:58:05Z")
I’m not sure what your assertion here is. Are you saying that the interviewer, all interviewers in fact, are coaching their interviewees and telling them to begin their sentences with “so…”? Why would they do that, do you think? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/55 "2020-12-14T20:16:25Z")
I think I explained in post 53 that I don’t hear it as an organic shift of the english language. It’s a more specific event. Interviewers are not producing or directing the shows. Do you agree that news programs have producers? Do they talk to interviewees beforehand? Why would they do that, do you think? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/56 "2020-12-14T21:15:30Z")
Are you saying that you think producers are coaching interview subjects to start their responses with “So”? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/57 "2020-12-14T21:29:27Z")
News producers are not telling interviewees to say “so.” Period. It’s not happening. If you think you have actual proof otherwise, let’s see it. Prove me wrong. Your suppositions have led you to reach a conclusion that defies everything I know about how news and media operations work and what they want from interviewees. You think it’s logic but it’s pure fantasy. Additionally, this is not a phenomenon I have heard only in NPR interviews. I hear people doing it all the time at work and in presentations. These are people who have never had the opportunity to be coached by an NPR producer. Furthermore I’ve actually heard public radio commentators commenting on this linguistic tic. Surely they would mention that this is being taught to interviewees if this has been the case. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/58 "2020-12-14T21:41:51Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I know how to spell things but irrelevant coincidences like “words that have vowels in alphabetical order” is not at all interesting to me. Are you being facetious? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/59 "2020-12-14T21:43:29Z")
Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2020, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918/60 "2020-12-14T21:50:22Z")
How 'bout abstemious? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/npr-trivialities/927918.md?page=4)