Growing up in my hometown, Nnewi, in Anambra State, the BBC radio was the premium news channel to listen to. The shortwave signals were strong only early in the morning and late at night. Those who tuned in to the BBC were globally informed. They usually knew something about anything happening in any part of the world.
Anything one said and attributed it to the BBC was believed to be true and reliable because the BBC unearthed and broadcast stories that the local media would not broadcast for fear of being sanctioned by the government. Those who were known to break exclusive stories were even given the nickname “BBC”. When I had a radio set in my secondary school days, I began to tune in to the BBC early in the morning and in the evening.
But beyond the reliability and boldness of the BBC, the icing on the cake of the radio station was the diction of the broadcasters, which was grand and exciting. The cadence of their presentation was exquisite. Their words were distinct and unmistakable. Some of the names of the presenters that I remember even to this day are Chris Bickerton, Kwabena Mensah, Julian Marshall, and Robin White. If I listened to a football match on the BBC, there was something magnetic about the speech of the commentators. Years later, when I discovered the wildlife documentary of David Attenborough on BBC TV, I fell in love with it too because of his speech and presentation style. I wanted to speak like BBC broadcasters.
Even when I listened to the Voice of America, Radio France (English), Radio Deutsche Welle (English), CNN, etc., the difference in the BBC was clear. There was something unique about the BBC English and the style of presentation. The English from the station flowed like music. The words of the presenters streamed out of the radio as if they passed through a sieve. They were distinct, touchable, exhilarating, and glorious.
Although I listened to the BBC, much of the foreign radio broadcasts, TV broadcasts and video materials that I consumed (like most other children growing up in Nigeria in the 1980s and 90s) came from the United States. But I still preferred the BBC speech style and accent. It was elevated and classy. It sounded like the golden standard of English.
I thought that in England, everybody would speak like the BBC presenters. After all, they own English. They speak it from birth. That is their only medium of communication. Therefore, I dreamed of travelling to England and soaking myself in the BBC English.
But sometimes during a sports programme like the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, or Commonwealth Games, after listening to some British or English sportsmen and women interviewed, I would be wondering if truly they were British. Their accent sounded strange. Their words were barely decipherable. I would strain my ears to hear what they were saying. Most times, I would conclude that it was because they just completed a game and were out of breath.
Then I had an opportunity to attend a seminar in London, which made me travel to London in 2003. I travelled with great expectations–no pun intended. Finally, I had the opportunity to swim in purified English rendered with panache, I told myself. Unlike the BBC, which I listened to only for a few hours in the morning and evening, I would have the opportunity to hear British English for many hours in London. I would also have the opportunity to communicate with the speakers and sharpen my own speech.
However, when I got to the Heathrow Airport in London, I received the first shock. The accent that I heard from the immigration officials and others at the airport was different from what I heard on the BBC. I was straining my ears to understand what some people were saying. I found it strange. But I concluded that maybe they were people who arrived from other parts of Europe and the UK, like Scotland, Wales and Ireland, whose first language might not be English.
Then I got to the streets of London and noticed the same non-BBC English. I went on trains and buses and engaged in conversations with people, especially when trying to get some direction or information. It was the same story. I cannot forget when someone mentioned Norfolk Square. About three other people said it to me; still, it was not clear. I eventually saw it written and exclaimed, “So it was Norfolk Square that they have been saying all this while?” I could not stop laughing at the whole situation. I began to wonder if it was truly English that was being spoken on the streets of England.
I was confounded when I got to the venue of the seminar I came for and tried to communicate with a Nigerian girl who was the contact person at the event. She was not just a Nigerian but an Igbo like me. She was born in the UK. But I barely understood what she was saying each time I needed some information. She spoke under her breath with no gusto and in a monotone, most times as if she had some hot potatoes in her mouth. I could not believe my ears. After trying twice to communicate with her with the same result, I stopped asking her anything.
I was wondering where all the BBC English was in London. I wanted to get to the BBC Bush House (their office location then) to ask them why I could not find their brand of English in London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But for some reason I cannot recall now, I did not get to visit the BBC headquarters.
Luckily, occasionally, I would run into someone who spoke like the guys at the BBC. That gave me some joy. We would communicate without any barriers, and I would enjoy every minute of the conversation. That was the situation until I left London.
Was I disappointed by the English spoken in London? Totally. But it was not the fault of the everyday Londoner. It was caused by the image the BBC gave me about the UK, which was different from what I saw in London.
Ironically, the first time I visited the United States and Canada, I understood their English better than British English, even though once in a while, one would run into someone who spoke like a rapper. I found it funny that the English of the English would be less intelligible than the English of Americans and Canadians. Although Americans and Canadians came mainly from the UK, they still moved away from the UK, unlike Britons, who have existed there for centuries.
That experience disabused my mind about the English and the English language. I eventually learned that BBC English is completely different from the everyday English that people speak in the UK. In addition, different parts of the UK have their own peculiar accents, which determine the way their English sounds. Furthermore, the English spoken in the universities is different from the English spoken in the streets, which makes the English spoken by those with university degrees different from that spoken by those without degrees. That is why at seminars, workshops, and corporate events, when facilitators speak, their speech is like that of the BBC.
The BBC speaks a special type of English called Queen’s English (also called King’s English). This English does not come into human beings (including native speakers) by place of birth. Human beings are trained to speak that way. There is no neighbourhood, town or city in the UK whose accent is Queen’s English. Queen’s English is globally associated with education, social status, and class, making it a symbol of correctness and sophistication. It is the English spoken by the British royalty, but it is not reserved only for the Royal Family. The term is merely used to identify what is considered standard, educated British English. Those who speak Queen’s English can be easily understood across the world by English speakers from all countries.
Credit:Punch