BAD
NEWS! BBC to Now Broadcast News in Igbo, Yoruba, Pidgin and Other Languages
The BBC World Service is ready to launch 11 new language
services as part of its biggest expansion “since the 1940s”
The expansion is a result of the funding boost announced by the
UK government last year.
The new
languages will be Afaan Oromo, Amharic, Gujarati, Igbo, Korean, Marathi,
Pidgin, Punjabi, Telugu, Tigrinya, and Yoruba.
The
first new services are expected to launch in 2017.
African
languages:
Afaan
Oromo: Language of Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group
Amharic:
Ethiopia’s official language
Tigrinya:
The main working language of Eritrea, along with Arabic. Also spoken in
Ethiopia
Igbo: An
official Nigerian language. Also spoken in Equatorial Guinea
Yoruba:
Spoken in south-western Nigeria and some other parts of West Africa, especially
Benin and Togo
Pidgin:
A creole version of English widely spoken in southern Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon
and Equatorial Guinea
Pidgin –
West African lingua franca
Asian
languages:
Gujarati:
Native to the Indian state of Gujarat but found around the Indian subcontinent
and the world
Marathi:
From the Indian state of Maharashtra, including India’s commercial capital
Mumbai
Telugu:
Huge numbers of speakers, like many Indian languages, primarily in Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana
Punjabi:
One of the world’s most populous languages, it is widely-spoken in Pakistan and
parts of India
Korean:
Spoken in North and South though the dialects have diverged. Pop culture slang
and foreign loan words are notably more common in the South
“This is
a historic day for the BBC, as we announce the biggest expansion of the World
Service since the 1940s,” said BBC director general Tony Hall.
“The BBC
World Service is a jewel in the crown – for the BBC and for Britain.
“As we
move towards our centenary, my vision is of a confident, outward-looking BBC
which brings the best of our independent, impartial journalism and world-class
entertainment to half a billion people around the world.
“Today
is a key step towards that aim.”
‘Relevant
as ever’
The plans include the expansion of digital services to offer more mobile and video content and a greater social media presence.
On Wednesday the BBC launches a full digital service in Thai, following the success of a Facebook-only “pop-up” service launched in 2014.
The plans include the expansion of digital services to offer more mobile and video content and a greater social media presence.
On Wednesday the BBC launches a full digital service in Thai, following the success of a Facebook-only “pop-up” service launched in 2014.
Other
expansion plans include:
extended news bulletins in Russian, with regionalised versions for surrounding countries
enhanced television services across Africa, including more then 30 new TV programmes for partner broadcasters across sub-Saharan Africa
new regional programming from BBC Arabic
short-wave and medium-wave radio programmes aimed at audiences in the Korean peninsula, plus online and social media content
investment in World Service English, with new programmes, more original journalism, and a broader agenda.
extended news bulletins in Russian, with regionalised versions for surrounding countries
enhanced television services across Africa, including more then 30 new TV programmes for partner broadcasters across sub-Saharan Africa
new regional programming from BBC Arabic
short-wave and medium-wave radio programmes aimed at audiences in the Korean peninsula, plus online and social media content
investment in World Service English, with new programmes, more original journalism, and a broader agenda.
Fran
Unsworth, the BBC’s World Service director, said: “Through war, revolution and
global change, people around the world have relied on the World Service for
independent, trusted, impartial news.
“As an
independent broadcaster, we remain as relevant as ever in the 21st Century,
when in many places there is not more free expression, but less.
“Today’s
announcement is about transforming the World Service by investing for the
future.
“We must
follow our audience, who consume the news in changing ways; an increasing
number of people are watching the World Service on TV, and many services are
now digital-only.
“We will
be able to speed up our digital transformation, especially for younger
audiences, and we will continue to invest in video news bulletins.
“What
will not change is our commitment to independent, impartial journalism.”
The new
language services mean the BBC World Service will be available in 40 languages,
including English. Lord Hall has set a target for the BBC to reach 500 million
people worldwide by its centenary in 2022.
–BBC
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