News Broadcasting
BBC’s project ‘Voices’ examines different accents, dialects in the UK
MUMBAI: The BBC’s DG Mark Thompson presented leading academic institutions in the UK with recordings of more than 1,000 people from all parts of the UK talking to the BBC about their dialect and accent.
The recordings, which will be preserved for future research into the English language, were made for the BBC’s Voices project – the biggest-ever exploration of language, accent and dialect in the UK. The BBC claims that it is the largest set of linguistic fieldwork interviews ever conducted, and involved asking people to tell the BBC about what they say and the way they say it.
Voices was a BBC-wide celebration and investigation into language, accent and dialect in the UK which culminated in a week of broadcasting in August 2005 across all the BBC’s local and national radio stations round the UK – as well as special programming on BBC ONE, BBC TWO, BBC FOUR, BBC Radio 4, 1Xtra and online on bbc.co.uk.
Language expert Professor David Crystal, called the Voices Recordings “the most significant popular survey of regional English ever undertaken in Britain.”
Extracts from the Voices recordings can be heard online by clicking on an interactive map at bbc.co.uk/voices. The recordings were made over a six-month period by 50 BBC journalists based at each of the BBC’s local and nations radio stations, in conjunction with the School of English at the University of Leeds. Thompson will present complete sets of all the Voices recordings and interviews to representatives of The British Library and the University of Leeds.
These included the BBC Two documentary Word on the Street and the six-part Radio 4 series Word 4 Word. The Voices team is also ensuring that the results of a series of online surveys run on bbc.co.uk/voices – to which 63,000 members of the public contributed – will be deposited with the universities at Leeds and Cardiff and also with the Centre for Deaf Studies in Bristol.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
