The wife and I finally tried "Friday Night With Johnathan Ross" on BBC America and really couldn't stand it. The guy pronounces his Rs like a three-year-old or like the vicar in The Princess Bride: "Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togethaw today.... Wuv, twoo wuv." We were wondering if it was maybe a speech impediment, but in one part when Shakira (or "Shakiwa") didn't understand his pronunciation of "choweogwaphy," he repeated it with the Rs intact and we weren't sure.
We thought that maybe with Peter Cook doing it in The Princess Bride and Johnathan Ross doing it while he interviewed "Vun Twoyah" and "Gwaham Nowton", perhaps it's a regional accent, sort of like certain accents in the northeastern United States where they drop any R that comes at the end of a word and save it for a word that has no R, so "Shiela, I'm going to get the paper" becomes "Shieler, I'm gonna go get the papah." Or perhaps like Emeril Lagasse insists on pronouncing the name of the famed Thai hot sauce Sriracha as "Sirrachee."
In the U.S., no one over the age of six pronounces their Rs as Ws unless they have some sort of impairment, such as being in "wuv."
Regardless, the constant mispronunciation of Rs just "gwated" on our nerves and we won't be watching Jonathan Ross again. It was a good enough talk show, but just merely good enough. And just being good enough isn't enough to make my wife and I keep watching.
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I'm not happy about ripping on people for problems they can't help, but the speech impediment on people whose job is talking takes things just a little bit too far. I remember that one of the news anchors on the public radio station where I went to college had a monumental stutter, and NPR reporter Louisa Lim has the same "R" problem that you discuss here. This kind of thing might be almost okay on TV where you can focus on the visuals, but on radio? Where all you have is the person's voice? Argh.
Johnathan Ross does indeed have a speech impediment, one which he has had since childhood. I have met him on a number of occasions and he is a genuine nice guy. Shame he came across differently in the programme you watched.
British regional accents are many and sadly dying out through discrimation which has always been encouraged within the broadcasting media. In the UK, religion, sex and age discrimination etc. are legislated against yet anyone with an accent which is not approved of by those who consider that they speak the language properly are fair game for insult and riddicule.
Our regional accents are something which we should be encouraging and seeking to preserve - much of our history is evident in them. I remember my father telling me that years ago, on a military training excercise in the States, he came across a small town where the population all spoke with our local Lancashire dialect! He couldn't believe his ears and was both amazed and thrilled that it was being perserved deep in the USA
Miladysa, it's not that he didn't come across as a nice guy, he didn't come across as particularly entertaining, innovative, or different than an average talk show host. With all the things I need to get done, I don't reserve time to watch a show that's merely average in my opinion. Nice guy or not, impediment or not, he didn't go above and beyond the average talk show and that's what will keep us from watching again.
OTOH, we can't wait for Graham Norton to return on BBC America this month.
I think there might be a bit of a UK/US culture gap here - the same reason we love the UK version of the office and you guys love the US version (I love both, but it takes some adjusting).
Jonathan Ross is a hugely popular national treasure and I think I speak for many when I say we wouldn't change the way he speaks if we could - it's probably one of the reasons he's a success, it's like his gimmick, that thing that makes him instantly recognizable and we've all grown to know and love it.
It's a speech impediment, so pointing out that it sounds childish and silly is a bit like highlighting that a disabled person looks stupid. I appreciate that wasn't intended.
His show is really well-loved and I, amongst many Brits, find him a hugely witty and entertaining host! I think it might be the difference in comic styles that means it doesn't translate so well to a US audience. I know I find US talk shows very dull, so maybe it depends on feeling an intimacy with the host as well as the guest line-up.
I'd say Graham Norton's style is a lot more accessible for Americans.
From what I've read, thanks to communications and transportation technology, regional accents are actually growing stronger while local accents are disappearing in the US.
The local accents disappearing doesn't surprise me, but the regional accents strengthening is not what I would have predicted.
Beyond being critical of a speech impediment because it diminshed the quality of your viewing experience, or indeed your perception of his quality in his field, if you have so much to lever into your day would it not be wiser to prioritise the important stuff and avoid watching television altogether. Chatshows are so fundamentally shit that your criticism is nullified anyway but, please, for the life of you and the people who may hold you dear, never, ever think that Graham Norton is a benchmark. I feel very, very sorry for you.
"...would it not be wiser to prioritise the important stuff and avoid watching television altogether."
I feel very sorry for you if you have no concept of balancing work and downtime. All work and no play (or relaxation) doesn't just make Jack a dull boy, it causes burnout and stress-related health problems.
I think the suggestion is to use your downtime positively, instead of just in criticizing people's physical difficulties.