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As long ago as 1922 and in far away London BBC radio first took to the
air. BBC announcers used an English that was deliberately neutral - supposedly
accent-free and definitely no dialect speakers wanted.
When war broke out in September 1939 the BBC found itself
with a new role as the country's voice to the outside world. Suddenly
it was important that announcers' voices were easily recognisable and
West Yorkshire's very own Wilfred Pickles, an actor from Halifax, became
the first newsreader with a regional accent.
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Wilfred Pickles
from Halifax - the first BBC newsreader with an accent.
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Today the BBC has more than seven radio networks, 39
local radio stations and 42 Where I live websites as well as dedicated
broadcasting for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It seeks to reflect
the rich diversity of language, dialect and accent found in the British
Isles. It is doubtful if many of the thousands of staff who work in today's
BBC speak the sort of English which would have got them a job as an anouncer
in 1922.
Here on the BBC West Yorkshire website we think there
are LOADS of different accents and dialects in our county's cities, towns
and villages. You can hear some of these if you look around our website
so we hope you'll open your ears and join us on a virtual tour!
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