A language has more or less distinctive vocabulary as illustrated above by simple example from English and Germany. People are not likely to be aware of the distinctive words they-use. Such words of course are not set apart in the dictionaries or lists. In English one knows a person and one also knows a fact, and most people do not notice that the knowledge is on two different levels until they lean another language (such as German, French Italian, Hausa Igbo or Yoruba) in broadcaster can be sure that some words undoubtedly may do exist.
A language has some distinctive meanings attached to some words. The word ‘meaning’ itself raise perplexities in its own right-while it is perfectly true that the word for ‘cat’ has its reference the same animal. In any language it is probably not true that the connotations also attached to it are universally the same.
In English a person’s surname identifies the parental family from which he comes and his Christian name, besides almost always revealing his sex distinguishes him from other member of that family.
Among the Benins of Nigeria, a name has other meanings, females names are known to be quite different from the males counterpart, unless in few cases. At first, a child is given two names, one by the father and another by the mother. The name he finally bears, is that of his father. Names always convey informations. It may suggest circumstance relating to the child’s birth or appearance and operational meaning of a word or phrase presumably stems from values or beliefs within the society. Such examples abound in the various languages in Nigeria and Africa.
The modal meanings attach to words in the various languages particularly in African societies are many. When such words appear in communication, the ascertaining significance attached to their referents within the society are high.
Parts of the body for example are likely to be rich in associations since they must play important role in the life of every one. To obtain adequate comprehension of the meanings of the words which represent them, there is an anatomical glossary at hand among the Benins of South Western Nigeria
1. Eye: Considered to be “a kind of mirror of the inner life hence to have a sober eye” means -to be sad. To have “a bright eye” to be cheerful and “to have eye that is old” to be beaten down.
2. Head: considered to be “the seat of wisdom, decision, will and pride” hence “to have an ardent head” means to be active or “to have a hardhead means” to be tenacious.
3. Heart: considered to be the area where “all emotional life is concentrated” hence “good heart” means proper feelings, sympathetic while a bad man has “an evil heart”.
4. Liver: Considered with the heart to be the place where life is concentrated hence to “take my heart and liver” means to destroy or annihilate me by removing these “two knots of life”.
Other parts of language a broadcaster should be very particular is the use of ‘jargon’ and pidgin English. As a form of purposive communication, they usually convey information concisely and accurately to members, groups and geographical regions.
As a discrete bits of a spoken language, they become intelligible in the areas where they are used particularly in commercial broadcasting and advertisement.
Vocabulary of a language may have certain deficiencies because there are no words for particular objects, actions or ideas. These are lacking because the referant are missing. However circumlocution is possible when a translation is being made from another language, the missing word can be replaced by a longer and perhaps an awkward phrase.
For example African broadcasters often find it difficult to find technical words for modern science hence they borrow words from European languages, before they can communicate information about such knowledge meaningfully.
The Taboos
Another important aspect of a language vocabulary is the tabooed words which broadcaster or communicators often come across in the process of his ardous work. Some tribes in Africa have many words as taboos. Such words may be used under some, circumstances or by some people. Taboos are heavily sanctioned because they refer to behaviour that are carefully regulated or considered thoroughly undesirable in the society. In Benin Nigeria for example it is taboo to say that a king is dead —but the correct word is “he joins the ancestor”
Colour Terms
An African broadcaster may find it difficult from the stand point of English and other European languages, he may be deficient with respect to colour terms.
Many African languages are deficient in colour terms even though it has been common that Africans are very rich in dressing with colours. Colours that are in English are given separate names -like black, and blue, yellow, and white, red and brown
Many African languages see the colour spectrum at different and fewer points. The black, red, white and blue stand out in most African languages. It is difficult for some of them to give names to brown, yellow, blue, indigo skyblue, navyblue, pink purple, cyan and others
Linguistic deficiencies in colour cannot claim to be responsible colour blindness for the absence of colour terms in some of the languages. The Benin language of the writer, is deficient in colour and this is revealed in red-green, blue yellow or the magenta red brown etc to be lower than the rate among Europeans all these are manifestations creative studies in colour television for a broadcaster
Intelligible Broadcasting
George Hills (1971) said that where two nations are said to speak the same language that the danger is greatest of the mutual misunderstanding.
The two may originally have shared the same language, but in the course of time divergences will have appeared especially in every day speech of the language of true radio.
This fact will be appreciated whenever an Englishman and an American meet or a Spaniared and a Peruvian or a Frenchman and a Haitian forgotten often in front of a microphone.
The Listener
Irrespective of who the listener is, whether the broadcaster and the ‘listener share the same language and culture or not, there is no much that can be said about him. If the listener is outside the broadcasters country that is an externer listener, he is a ‘Rare Bird’ because it may take difficult time to tune to a foreign radio.
It is almost universally easier for him to listen to local broadcasting than the foreign broadcasting. He must search for VHF FM which gives the best and clearest signals up to say 100 kilometers from the transmitter to medium wave up to 300 kms by daylight and 800 by night. If it is external broadcasting, it has to be on short waves, but tuning in to short waves demand from the listener more still an effort than tuning to medium waves and the quality of signal on short or medium waves cannever be as fine as an VHF FM which may be available to the listener locally.
What the broadcaster should take into consideration at every stage in the production of his programmes is the availability of very clear short or medium waves. There are some large areas of the world where all local broadcasting is either on short wave or poor quality medium wave. Some broad casters merely tune to foreign broadcast station if he wants:
1. to test how powerful his receiver is (a Knob-twiddler)
2. out of curiosity
3. in the knowledge (or belief) that he is likely to hear 50 news items which may inform, educate, and entertain him
4. because he is professionally required to do so (monitor)
A keen listener is most likely to stay tuned when his expectation are satisfied (No 3) or when his initial curiosity is turned into real interest in the first moments of listening (No2) curiosity will be all the greater, whenever the keen listeners local sources of information are inefficient or inadequate or subject to censorship and that of international crisis. But in such circum stances, he will stay tuned only if what is being broadcast is relevant to him at the moment of broadcast.
To take an extreme example of important international news, every one in any part of the world were anciouse to listen to radio, or view the television through the (C.N.N or any cable network of international repute during the America and Britain invation of Iraq- the year 2003 when Saddam Hussein was accused of acquiring chemical weapons which he may use for destroying the world
The results of audience research carried out by various organisations all over the world established that what most listener to both local and external broadcasts want from them are:
a. News of political event of international importance
b. News of other events catastrophic industrial scientific inter national sport, cultural religions
c. News and foreign reaction to events in their own country (this can sometimes be of prime interest) Listeners also tune in to hear:
d. Comment on international political events as seen from the point of origin of the broadcast.
e. Information about the country originationg the broadcast
f. Instructional programmes
g. Programmes which are entertainment are different front, or compete effectively with what is available from local sources. (George Hills 1971)
Undoubtedly the relative popularity of comment, instructional programmes etc. varies between one nation, one individual, and another. If broadcaster decides to give his listeners programmes of entertainment music, plays, variety etc) he must most certainly know his limitations and those of radio over long or short distances He must keep in touch with current tastes in culture, language, politics, news, vouge in fashions in the country or nations, and education of his listeners.(He may want to give them some thiing new, or different but he must know what is going on, what is old, the taboos and be able to use his tactics as an experience broadcaster, in all) He know how to attract and hold his audiences or listeners with correct language. He must not allow himself to be deceived by few chosen letter of praise during feed, back programmes request or discussions.
Entertainment programme has in general a low priority with most listeners to external broadcasting compared with informative programmes given equal reception. Conditions, the organisation which gives a sensational tendentious or distorted account of events of itself and its way of life, can in the short term have a wide appeal, but in the longer term, the one which succeeds in being considered wellbalanced comes to have the larger listening audience or the general public.
Good reputations are build up slowly over many years, but reputation based on past performances if not sustained do not last. They must constantly be renewed with good quality programmes, skill in radio and television to achieve accuracy in the briefest possible space.
It is worth defining accuracy more closely. The listener cannot know whether what he hears is true or not, unless he has been an eye-witness to or done research on the subject of a broadcast. And ofcouse, he cannot have been an eye-witness to all the news neither will he have do research on all subjects.
When a listener believes a broadcast to be precise or accurate, and that what he hears is true, he really means that what he has heard was credible to hint This is called a kin listener.
If on the other hand he has been an eye-witness to an event and he has heard an accurate broadcast report of it, he will tend to believe all else Which comes from the same source and importantly he not only pass on his belief to others but count on the broadcaster as a well-balanced impartial and accurate producer or news reporter.
SPEAKER
