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Over to You: Understanding Accents on the BBC World Service

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27/08/2016 GMT

Understanding Accents on the BBC World Service

BBC World Service - Over to You, Understanding Accents on the BBC World Service

Can the world’s radio station broadcast global voices and still be understood?

Editor of Newshour, Roger Sawyer, explains how to tread the fine-line between broadcasting real voices and ensuring listeners understand.

It is often said that one of the unique features of the BBC World Service is that it provides a platform for free speech for people across the globe - championing the real voices of real people. This, of course, means that a range of accents will be broadcast, but does it cause a problem for listeners? 

Listener Jost Brandt, from Munich in Germany, makes the point that while he believes in letting people tell their own story, he does have a hard time understanding some interviewees. Editor of Newshour, Roger Sawyer, is on hand to discuss treading the fine line between broadcasting real voices and ensuring the listener understands. 

We also speak to the Head of Drama at the Nigerian service of BBC Media Action to find out more about a drama series set in a West African market which many of you have fallen in love with.

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