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Language
of the Cabinet
On Saturday
June 30th 2007 The Times produced a table containing comments about the
members of Gordon Brown's new Cabinet.
Brief and
to the point about intellectual capacity and character it was also succinct
about their voice and their language.
Here are extracts
from the table.
- Comment
in any appropriate way on the descriptions and explain what you believe
is meant by them.
- To what
extent might some of them be biased and demonstrate an opinion about
the speaker's character?
- Can you
improve upon them?
- Create
a similar table for the teachers in your school or college
| Member |
Voice |
Language |
| Gordon
Brown |
manly
and deep, gulping |
limited,
repetitive |
| Alistair
Darling |
gentle,
Scottish |
unshowy,
considered |
| David
Milliband |
light
bariton, accentless |
clear,
modern, punchy |
| Jack
Straw |
halting |
careful,
direct |
| Jacqui
Smith |
schoolteacher |
fluent,
unoriginal |
| Des
Browne |
unmodulated,
Scottish |
very
limited, jargon |
| Alan
Johnson |
London |
plain,
unshowy |
| Hilary
Benn |
tenor,
slipping into his father |
fluent |
| Douglas
Alexander |
clever
schoolboy, Scottish |
programmed |
| John Hutton |
unremarkable |
plain, unexciting |
| Harriet Harman |
mechanical, inoffensive |
repetitive |
| Peter Hain |
South African, haughty |
clear, careless |
| Ruth Kelly |
contralto, growling |
unshowy |
| Hazel Blears |
chirpy |
Northern, serviceable |
| Geoff Hoon |
dull |
precise, unshowy |
| Ed Balls |
unremarkable |
technical |
| Ed Milliband |
baritone, slight lisp, accentless |
clear, modern, reflective |
| Baroness Ashton |
low-key, not too posh |
functional |
| Andy Burnham |
regional |
undventurous, clear |
Are these useful terms to describe an individual's language?
What kind of language
is "accentless"? Is that linguistically meaningful?
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