Fareast Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Yeah, sure is trivial ......but if anybody can help, I 'd be grateful ! I 've noticed more and more in the newspapers and on T.V. that lots of people, when recounting a story, only tell it in the present tense. In a recent court case in the Star, even the prosecution barrister, describing an attack said, "..........so, she 's not letting her in through reception......."..........although the attack happened weeks before. People on t.v., describing a bank robbery, will often say, " .....so, he runs out of the bank and jumps into......." I wonder how this form of speaking has suddenly become more common. Is it to give the story more ' life ' ? [ and does it ? ]. Is it because the speaker is not sure of the past tense and is too embarrassed to admit it ! Is it part of the ' innit ' syndrome, spreading ? Anybody else noticed it ? Anybody know how or why it 's ' caught on ' ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I think it's always been commonplace among people gossipping - "so she goes, "what do you think you're playing at?" and he turns round and says, "what's it got to do with you?" and she says.... Presumably, if it's ordinary members of the public being interviewed, they're just speaking in the manner that they normally do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natjack Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 People always used to talk like that in London and over the past years it's gradually spread up country. Nowt to do wi me, I have to add! I'm bi-lingual If a barrister is talking like that, all part of the general dumbing down of everything and everyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortcrust Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I don't think it's dumbing down. The barrister is simply using the present tense to create a sense of immediacy. There's nothing 'wrong' with describing past events in the present tense so long as the listener knows that the events have already happened. Stories are often told this way in books, so why not in conversation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted April 25, 2011 Author Share Posted April 25, 2011 I suppose what got me interested was the fact that I don 't think I 've ever seen a barrister quoted before as speaking in that style. The strange thing is. that people speaking casually, as it were, often DO use the past tense now and then, correctly, then jump back to the present tense, which always makes it seem a bit disjointed to me. I don 't think we ought to be too fussy about language-----unless it causes genuine confusion-----but the more simplistic it gets [ e.g. using the present tense to describe the past and the present ] we 're that little bit nearer to Orwell 's Newspeak-----God forbid ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lectrolove Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 It's annoying when they use it in history documentaries. "It's the 15th year of Henry's reign ..." No it isn't! It's 2011! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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