Dictionary complaint spells end for TVNZ promotion

TVNZ has cancelled one of its promotions after the publishers of the New Zealand Oxford Dictionary complained about its references to mistakes in the dictionary.

The advertisement for the TVNZ captioning department, which makes programmes accessible for the deaf, features a staff member claiming they used the Oxford Dictionary so often they had been able to point out some mistakes to the publishers.

TVNZ publicity manager Joss Debreceny confirmed that the advertisement had been taken off air a month early after a phone call from the Victoria University-based New Zealand Dictionary Centre, which compiles and publishes this country's version of the dictionary.

He said no official complaint was made and TVNZ stood by the comments in the ad that it had discovered some mistakes, but said it was not intended to denigrate the Oxford Dictionary.

He would not give the exact mistakes but said "there was a typo, a definition of a Kiwi colloquialism and apostrophe use. It's all pretty small stuff".

The department had corresponded with the Oxford University Press in Britain to query matters including its definition and grammatical use of words.

"We use the dictionary on a daily basis and while the promo was aimed at informing viewers about our increased captioning, we did not intend any offence to anyone.

"Our correspondence has consistently been intended as good-natured, respectful and reflective of a professional interest in quality to ensure that our captioning is correct, in alignment with the Oxford Dictionary and maintains the highest standard."

NZ Dictionary Centre manager Dianne Bardsley declined to comment.