Bill Bryson was right. The “London, England” effect is everywhere in the US; the media dumbs down everything to an absurd degree, hence “London, England” – as opposed to London, where exactly? To be fair there are plenty of other Londons, but I think it's pretty unambiguous in a story about the UK parliament.
Case in point: the recent death of the pope means that there are plenty of news stories right now with Italian people being interviewed. Last night, the interview of the proprietor of the clerical attire shop in Rome where any pope who's worth his salt gets his gear. This man spoke good English, and spoke slowly. Even so, we are treated to subtitles. Just in case.
He's speaking English!
That… was… for people who can't… hear. Yep! People who can't hear!
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