Eileen Dunne: lovely lady and newsreader but...

Rebelheart

why can't she pronounce the letter 'h' the Hiberno-English way that the overwhelming number of educated Irish people pronounce it?

I guarantee if we had a clip of Eileen reading the news 30 years ago she would have pronounced the letter 'h' as Hiberno-English 'haitch', just as the vast majority of people in Ireland pronounce the letter. Of late, however, both she and Brian Jennings have started following the British pronunciation of "aitch".

You can bet Eileen didn't get this British pronounciation from her well-known GAA dad, Mick Dunne, or from her husband, Macdara Ó Fatharta. So why is this otherwise sound cailín following British pronunciation guides when she reads the news on RTÉ?

JonathanAnon

I think you're being very 'ard on her..

Skid

Rebelheart wrote: »

You can bet Eileen didn't get this British pronounciation from her well-known GAA dad, Mick Dunne, or from her husband, Macdara Ó Fatharta.

Just as well, Eileen has a lovely voice and is very easy to understand. Her Husband doesn't speak anything like as well as she does.

Rebelheart

Skid wrote: »

Just as well, Eileen has a lovely voice and is very easy to understand. Her Husband doesn't speak anything like as well as she does.

Ah but listen to the richness of his expression. In acting terms, he is Daniel Auteuil to Eileen's relatively suave and sophisticated Meg Ryan. I go for Auteuil.

Her pronunciation of 'h' is still really odd in this society, and it's a mystery why she does it.

TimmyTarmac

While you may have a point, Rebel, about that particular pronounciation from Ms. Dunne. I'm sure you'd concede that there are so many other problems and basic errors of pronounciation and falling standards, especially in RTE 'nooz' that this one is very very minor.

Take the soft 'T' which has become a crisis in recent times. The young wans recruited into RTE from other shoite noozrooms are the worst offenders.

What happens if 'Miss' Romney is the next US president?
Where does this leave the leading actor, Brad 'Piss'?

Why can't any news person, excepting Ms. Dunne and Michael Murphy pronounce the Spanish name Javier (Have -ee-air) correctly, without making it sound French?

bureau2009

Just want to concur on the issue of dreadful speech "standards" in RTE.

Gay Byrne (like him or loathe him) is by far RTE's best speaker (Lyric FM 2pm to 4pm on Sundays).

Crisp and clear, he shows all those wannabes how it's done in terms of good speech and presentation.

Learn from the master.

califano

All RTE Newsreaders are also asked to pronounce Gardai as Gordai

Technocentral

Would love to be the meat in an Eileen Dunne and and Mary Kennedy sandwich.

Gophur

Rebelheart wrote: »

why can't she pronounce the letter 'h' the Hiberno-English way that the overwhelming number of educated Irish people pronounce it?

I guarantee if we had a clip of Eileen reading the news 30 years ago she would have pronounced the letter 'h' as Hiberno-English 'haitch', just as the vast majority of people in Ireland pronounce the letter. Of late, however, both she and Brian Jennings have started following the British pronunciation of "aitch".

You can bet Eileen didn't get this British pronounciation from her well-known GAA dad, Mick Dunne, or from her husband, Macdara Ó Fatharta. So why is this otherwise sound cailín following British pronunciation guides when she reads the news on RTÉ?

Eileen Dunne has, on more than one occasion, read the news, stating "An Otel!" She is the first person I ever heard taking the "h" out of Hotel. Nowhere is teh "h" silent in hotel.


Anyone hear the young wan reading the news on 2FM at weekends? She has the most pronounced lisp and must be soaking the microphones all over the place. Pat Gilroy wouldn't pick a player with a limp, no matter how well he kicks the ball, why should someone with a speech defect be selected as a newsreader? Newstalk have a few of them too, people with lisps, rasping out all the time. Is there no governance of these people? What selection procedures are in place?

fatgav

Since when is it a newsreader's prerogative to correctly pro-n-ounce ev-er-ee syl-ab-le correctly?

The news has nothing to do with the Queen's English, but is about delivering the facts and stories in a way that the listener/viewer can understand and absorb even while doing something else like driving or cooking or whatever. There is an art to this, but pronouncing each consonant to the precise standards seemingly demanded here is not entailed within it. The soft 'T' is not a crisis, and the way the letter 'h' is pronounced is not a mystery. Simply, it is how people speak.

Gophur

fatgav wrote: »

Since when is it a newsreader's prerogative to correctly pro-n-ounce ev-er-ee syl-ab-le correctly?

The news has nothing to do with the Queen's English, but is about delivering the facts and stories in a way that the listener/viewer can understand and absorb even while doing something else like driving or cooking or whatever. There is an art to this, but pronouncing each consonant to the precise standards seemingly demanded here is not entailed within it. The soft 'T' is not a crisis, and the way the letter 'h' is pronounced is not a mystery. Simply, it is how people speak.

BS, it's not "how people speak".

It's not too much to expect professional broadcasters to pronounce basic words correctly. These people are not exactly over-worked and have more than enough time to be coached and to learn how to do things right.

LostCorkGuy

Technocentral wrote: »

Would love to be the meat in an Eileen Dunne and and Mary Kennedy sandwich.

You're vile :P

Trick of the Tail

There has to be a standard, a bar, set to which everyone's speech should aspire or at least be compared.

A national broadcaster is the perfect place to set this bar, and within that organisation, the newsreaders who are employed to impart the facts and withhold their personalities and opinions are the best people to do this.

Broadcasters who bear scant regard to standards of pronunciation are lazy and incompetent. The hissy T is not 'how people speak', not is it the product of a historic geographical accent, its how a select band of lazy or posy people speak. The T is by definition supposed to be a hard sound.

'Th' is supposed to be a soft sound. 'H' is supposed to be pronounced 'aitch'.

This is an argument than go on an on, but my opinion is that if there are not standards set, we run the risk that speech generally will decline into a lazy, slovenly, slurry indistinct mess, with American influences, which will be hard to understand.

A.

constitutionus

surely an example of the near mythological RTE elecution guide ?

im pretty sure i recall ex news types relating tales of the linguistic hoops you had to jump through back in the day - the "gourdee" being a classic example of it.

she can probably belt out a fine rendition of "seven drunken nights" in a fine culchie accent when not on the job.

tampopo

Her out of sync blinking of eyes has me distracted from her pronounciations...

Gophur

tampopo wrote: »

Her out of sync blinking of eyes has me distracted from her pronounciations...

She does have a prosthetic eye so she should be forgiven for that.

LordSutch

Eileen opened the RTE1 nine O'Clock news the other night, totally in Irish!

For one moment I thought I was watching Nuacht, but then she broke into English after a good minute or two, and the news continued in English. Making a mental note I wondered would this be the norm from now on, a new opening for RTE news broadcasts in Irish, (and fair enough I thought) as it would distinguish their news from all other non Irish stations, But no, it was a one off for some bizarre reason, known only to Eileen herself?

Skid

LordSutch wrote: »

Eileen opened the RTE1 nine O'Clock news the other night, totally in Irish!

For one moment I thought I was watching Nuacht, but then she broke into English after a good minute or two, and the news continued in English. Making a mental note I wondered would this be the norm from now on, a new opening for RTE news broadcasts in Irish, (and fair enough I thought) as it would distinguish their news from all other non Irish stations, But no, it was a one off for some bizarre reason, known only to Eileen herself?

It is to do with 'Seachtain na Gaeilge'. Until St. Patricks Day you were hear more Irish being spoken by Newsreaders, Presenters and Continuity Announcers than usual.

LordSutch

Skid wrote: »

It is to do with 'Seachtain na Gaeilge'.

What's that then?

Skid

LordSutch wrote: »

What's that then?

Seachtain na Gaeilge is a non-profit organisation, which promotes the use of Irish language and culture both at home and abroad within a two-week festival held in March every year. Seachtain na Gaeilge will take place on 5 – 17 March 2012!

http://www.snag.ie/about/

it's an Irish Language Promotion week, which lasts for 2 weeks.

Not my cupan tae by any means.

recipio

Sound like a nice lady but I do wish she would get her goitre excised.

tampopo

Gophur wrote: »

She does have a prosthetic eye so she should be forgiven for that.

I see. I didn't know.

And she should.

mea culpa

Johnnyq79

Is it my TV, or does Eileen Dunne look like she has a black eye this evening?

gerrybbadd

Johnnyq79 wrote: »

Is it my TV, or does Eileen Dunne look like she has a black eye this evening?

Thought the same thing too.

honeybear

I've had radio 1 on all afternoon and she's been reading the news all afternoon ... thought she made a slip up on one news story (re custody battle for Jason Corbett's children). Maybe she's tired. Must say, I think that she is a good newsreader.

blindsider

Johnnyq79 wrote: »

Is it my TV, or does Eileen Dunne look like she has a black eye this evening?

I think Post #22 explains why.

Radio5

honeybear wrote: »

I've had radio 1 on all afternoon and she's been reading the news all afternoon ... thought she made a slip up on one news story (re custody battle for Jason Corbett's children). Maybe she's tired. Must say, I think that she is a good newsreader.

Wouldn't be too worried. In relation that story, a female newsreader on UTV Ireland called Molly Martens "his step-wife" the other week.

I don't know the newsreaders' name, she is not one who is usually on the 10pm news.