GRAMMAR GRIEVANCES

Someone Went Ballistic After A Broadcaster Said That The Queen Will Lay Next To Her Husband

Then someone else asked if the queen was a chicken

Les oeufs (author’s photo)

Living in France, I struggle daily, not to slaughter the language of Moliere. I can almost see the woman in the epicerie cringe the moment I open the door and cheerily chirp, “Bonjour.” On one occasion, my question about les oeufs (eggs)nearly sent her into meltdown. Sometimes, she disappears into the back of the store as soon as I arrive and stays there until I eventually leave. I’m sure that’s her intent.

French is not my native language and however long I live here, once I open my mouth, no one will mistake me for anything but a foreigner. To paraphrase David Sedaris, “Me will never talk pretty one day.”

But even when you’ve spoken your native language all your life — and especially when you’re an announcer for the BBC who might be expected to have mastered the Queen’s English ( or is it now the King’s English) you can still . . . lay an egg, so to speak.

Case in point — the newscaster’s error during Britain’s period of mourning for the queen and the resulting online meltdown. I hadn’t heard the faux pas, I just came upon it after I’d spotted a blog with an intriguing…