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The BBC Advisory Committee on Spoken English aimed to help BBC broadcasters pronounce words—which were often mispronounced—on air.[1] See Received Pronunciation for more.
The committee existed under this name from the years 1926 to 1939.[1] The committee existed under this name from 1926 until 1934, when it was often referenced as both the Full Committee or the Main Committee.[2] It was then abbreviated to the Spoken English Committee.[2] In 1935, sub-committees were installed, including the Sub-Committee on Words and the Specialist Consultants.[2]
The founding of the BBC Advisory Committee on Spoken English was due in large part to John Reith, who was the BBC's first managing editor.[3] Reith wanted to narrow down on-air pronunciations on his network, and in turn created this committee in an effort to set the standard.[3] The committee's first declarations of pronunciation Dos and Don'ts came in the form of a booklet series which was entitled Broadcast English.[4] The series' first installment was entitled "Words of Doubtful Pronunciation."[4] Although the committee existed to enforce specific pronunciations, there is still uncertainty and inconsistency regarding "proper" pronunciations and if there are in fact any within the English language.[3] Eventually the International Phonetic Alphabet was utilized to aid in pronunciations and lessen deliberations.[2]
Jürg R. Schwyter wrote a book entitled "Dictating to the Mob: The History of the BBC Advisory Committee on Spoken" which was published in 2016.[2] According to the Oxford University Press, Schwyter's work is the first book written on the history of this committee solely.[5] The Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation is known as the BBC Advisory Committee on Spoken English's predecessor.[4]
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