Posted by RichardG on October 20, 2003 at 11:09:21 from 62.173.81.130 user RichardG.
In Reply to: Re: Racist, forsooth! (was Blackett English) posted by Peter Ceresole on October 18, 2003 at 12:09:45:
"But for the main BBC output, and all TV output, it doesn't apply, and there, RP is a real social obstacle and a malign influence."
So what is your "native" accent, Peter ? Speaking as a native of the West Midlands, I read in yesterday's papers that the only Brummy allowed on TV was Jasper Carrott. During the Jubilee concert last year, Ozzie Osbourne reckoned that he was the first Brummy ever allowed in Buckingham Palace. Many a true word is spoken in jest ! The BBC's promotion of regional accents in national broadcasting tends to be fairly selective. The only way a Birmingham native like Sue Lawley could obtain national exposure was by playing down her native accent. Working in London, if I spoke Brummy I have no doubt it would hold me back as I would not be taken seriously - partly due to the way the media has tended to portray people from the West Midlands. This is not a class thing, more a tribal one, and if you cannot talk the language of the tribe, then you will not be accpeted as a part of it. Perhaps the prime example is Tony Blair, who has been accepted by the English tribe as one of them by speaking RP (or something close to it) and losing his native Scots accent.
RP was and is a way for people to develop their careers away from their home areas, and provided everyone in the U.K. with a recognisable standard for communicating. I have friends from Geordieland and from Yorkshire whose accents soften considerably when talking with people from different areas, and thicken up considerably when home. Far from being a "social obstacle" and a "malign influence", RP is a boon to communication throughout the United Kingdom - and if the BBC is deliberately trying to eliminate it, it is doing the country a considerable disservice.
Do you really think that Brummies, Geordies, Scousers, Gogs, and the rest prefer hearing someone with a distinct regional accent - whether from their area or elsewhere - rather than a non-specific RP accent ? The voices of news announcers should convey the news, not distract the listener by having notable regional variations. There is nothing wrong with local accents, but when communicating with the whole nation, using a recognisable "national" accent is a boon - something that the Prime Minister seems to understand, even if the BBC does not.