Do you correct mispronunciation? Don't!

A common affliction among anyone who has worked in newspaper production is unaffectionately known as “sub-editor-itis”. Many’s the time my wife has yelled “stop subbing me”, when I point out that she should say “fewer” rather than “less”. Happily, this is an affliction that affects a very small percentage of people. Rather more common, though, is the tendency to bridle when we hear someone mispronounce a word: “expresso” instead of “espresso” for very strong black coffee, for example, or “nucular” for atomic energy.

A survey recently unearthed the “top ten” most jarring mispronunciations, but – thankfully – revealed that most of us think it rude to correct people when they do get a word wrong. And, as phonetician Jane Setter points out, languages are dynamic and change over time, as does pronunciation.

A photo which appears to show health secretary, Matt Hancock, in an intimate moment with an aide has sent Fleet Street – and social media sites – into a paroxysm of speculation and condemnation. It’s one of the oldest questions in journalism: is this a matter of public interest or are the public just interested? Media law specialist Polly Ripon explains the difference and why, in the case of Hancock, it’s very much the former.

And a team of researchers has identified what appears to replace Neanderthals as Homo Sapiens’ closest relatives. A skull found in China in 1933 has turned out to be from Homo Longi, named after the Dragon River province in which it was found. Read all about it here.

This week we also considered six reasons why the Conservatives may have lost the by-election in Chesham and Amersham, looked back on the Brexit vote five years ago and discovered that, in football, penalty shootouts are often won or lost in the coin toss.

Our colleagues around the world wrote a love letter to African literary giant Bhekizizwe Peterson, assessed the problems besetting the Republican Party in the US, and considered why New Zealand is more vulnerable to a COVID outbreak than ever before.

Do try to make time to listen to our podcast, The Conversation Weekly. This week it’s about how to ensure societies learn from disasters such as fires, tsunamis and pandemics. And if you get the chance, check out the narrated versions of some of our best stories for your listening pleasure.

Jonathan Este

Associate Editor, International Affairs Editor

J.K2507/Shutterstock

Mispronunciation: why you should stop correcting people’s mistakes

Jane Setter, University of Reading

Bothered by 'expresso'? An expert on speech and language explains why you shouldn't correct mispronunciations.

Will Oliver/EPA-EFE

Why Matt Hancock’s private life is very much in the public interest

Polly Rippon, University of Sheffield

A media law expert explains why the Sun was right to report on Health Secretary Matt Hancock's personal life.

What our relative may have looked like. CREDIT Chuang Zhao

Homo longi: extinct human species that may replace Neanderthals as our closest relatives found in China

Anthony Sinclair, University of Liverpool

A new analysis of a 'lost' skull rewrites the recent family tree of the human species, showing our closest relatives lived in China.

Six reasons why the Tories lost the Chesham and Amersham byelection

Paul Whiteley, University of Essex

The gradual waning of the 'vaccine boost' combined with tactical progressive voting and local issues to sink the Conservatives in a 'blue wall' seat.
Brexit: five years after the referendum, here are five things we’ve learned

Uta Staiger, UCL

After the Brexit referendum, the most-Googled question in the UK was 'What does it mean to leave the European Union?' Five years later, we still don't have the full answer.

PHC Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Euro 2020: penalty shootouts can be won or lost on a coin toss

Dominik Schreyer, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management; Matthias Sutter, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods; Sascha L. Schmidt, WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management

New research shows that winners get to choose.

Umomos/Shutterstock

Fire, tsunami, pandemic: how to ensure societies learn lessons from disaster – podcast

Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation

How to prevent future disasters by learning from the past. Listen to episode 21 of The Conversation Weekly podcast.

An intellectual love letter to Bhekizizwe Peterson, a South African literary giant

Isabel Hofmeyr, University of the Witwatersrand

For Peterson theoretical reflection went hand-in-hand with practice; knowledge had to be made in and outside the academy.
What today’s GOP demonstrates about the dangers of partisan conformity

Robert B. Talisse, Vanderbilt University

To be politically successful, coalitions need to be unified. But that pressure to unify can spell trouble for groups – as today's GOP demonstrates.
Why New Zealand is more vulnerable to a new COVID-19 outbreak than ever before

Matthew Hobbs, University of Canterbury; Lesley Gray; Malcolm Campbell, University of Canterbury

New Zealand's capital is on high alert after an Australian visitor tested positive on their return home. With less than 10% vaccinated, New Zealanders remain vulnerable to new outbreaks.