Fooled by the BBC: My encounter with the charm of British English

Growing up in my hometown, Nnewi, in Nigeria, BBC News was the premium news channel to listen to. A few people tuned to the radio station only early in the morning or in the evening, because the shortwave signals were strong at that time.

Those who listened to the BBC were globally informed. They usually knew something about anything happening in any part of the world.

Whatever they said and credited the source as the BBC was believed as 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 got a radio set in my secondary school days, I began to tune in to the BBC early in the morning and in the evening.

When elegance meets reliability

But beyond the reliability and boldness of the BBC, one unique feature of the radio station was the diction of the broadcasters. It was elegant and thrilling. The cadence of their presentation was exquisite, their words 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.

My dream was to speak like these broadcast demi-gods. Someday.

Even when I listened to the Voice of America, Radio France (English), Radio Deutshe Welle (English), CNN, etc, the difference in the BBC was clear. There was something extraordinary about the English and presentation style of the BBC. The English flowed like music. The words of the presenters streamed out of the radio as if they passed through a sieve: distinct, touchable, exhilarating, glorious.

Although I listened to the BBC, much of the foreign radio broadcast, TV broadcast 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, refined, classy. It sounded like the gold standard of English.

I thought that in England, everybody would speak like the BBC presenters. After all, they own the English language. 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 wonder if they were truly 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 had just completed a game and were out of breath.

What I witnessed in the UK

In 2003, my opportunity to be in London arrived. It was a seminar in London. 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 chance to hear British English for many hours a day in London. I would also have the opportunity to communicate with the speakers and sharpen my speech.

However, when I got to Heathrow Airport in London, I received the first shock. The accent 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 Northern 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 can’t forget when someone mentioned Norfolk Square. About three other people said it to me; it was still not clear. I eventually saw it written and exclaimed: “So it’s 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 couldn’t believe my ears. After trying twice to communicate with her with the same result, I gave up.

I was wondering where all the BBC English was in London. I wanted to get to the BBC Bush House (their head office 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 can’t recall now, I didn’t get to visit the BBC headquarters.

Luckily, once in a while, 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 met 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.

The Queen’s English

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 spoken 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 the Queen’s English (also called the 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 the Queen’s English.

The 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 the Queen’s English can be easily understood across the world by English speakers from all countries. That is why it is so popular and respected.