“WHAT’S the operative paradigm then?” Rajesh asked Lee on Isidingo (SABC3, 6.30pm) the other night.
“Huh?” audiences across South Africa collectively wondered.
“What’s going on?” Rajesh quietly said, repeating the question so that both Lee and the rest of us could gather what on earth he was trying to say.
I love Isidingo and generally the writers do a pretty good job of keeping the script fresh and the dialogue believable.
Which is why I did a double-take when Rajesh, cool cat that he is, uttered this poncy polysyllabic line which even highly educated Lee didn’t understand right off the bat.
The above is but one example of how sometimes the writers behind a show get a little ahead of themselves.
Another instance where a script riddled with words longer than the average is on the news broadcasts on SABC3 and e.tv scattered throughout the day.
I am not in any way trying to knock news readers or reporters who do not speak English as their mother tongue, but it’s unfair on both the reporter and the viewer when English is mangled to such an extent that the story itself is lost as the viewer struggles to decipher what is being said/read on the voiceover.
Then again, sometimes a few hectic words or names thrown into a script can provide a spot of unintended comedy.
Who hasn’t chuckled when an English reporter who speaks verily “how now brown cow” encounters a genuine indigenous name with more than a few clickety clicks?
In the case of the news broadcasts, scripting is a matter of give and take.
However, in the case of shows, sweet, short and simple is a winning formula.
Comments
Only TVSA members can reply to this thread. Click here to login or register.