Image Sunil Ray on Unsplash
A local radio journalist working for the BBC heard recently that “she was not northern enough.”
The comment referred to her voice.
Her less than “northern” vowels stopped her podcast, Sex, Drugs and Lullabies, from being commissioned on the BBC Sounds app.
In her opinion, BBC bosses “are obsessed with how presenters sound.”
As someone who lives in the north (North London), I sympathise.
True, I wasn’t always a resident of these parts.
When I married, I made the great leap from far and distant South London.
My family were aghast.
They also kept getting lost for the first year or two on every visit.
That was in the BSN (Before Sat Nav) era.
Even now, it’s quite a common occurrence when southerners cross the great divide known locally as the Thames.
From a language point of view, I had to drop all references to things like apples and pairs (stairs), jam jars (cars) and whistles (suits as in whistle and flute).
It was hard at first, but I knew I had to blend in, or I’d never get a pint at the pub.
One of the great things about organising events is that you get to work in cities across the country.
Over the years, it’s been a pleasure to hear and (mostly) understand, with minimal translation, the voices of Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff, Newcastle and, in the far north, Aberdeen.
I’ve loved all those voices and the skills of their owners.
Whether they always understood what I said or not, I wouldn’t know, but the shows got built and opened anyhow.
Luckily, our event marketing training is easy to understand and implement.
It’s jargon-free and accent neutral.
That may not work for the BBC, but it could be very helpful for you.
Very best,