Well, the Russians and Chinese *were* generating radio noice to dry to drown out the BBC and VoA. I grew up in the Middle East and we totally relied on the BBC to find out what was really happening. The VoA was always shallow party-line propaganda shit. -T
On Sat, Jun 2, 2012 at 6:23 PM, ss <cybers...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Sunday 03 Jun 2012 2:33:36 am Tim Bray wrote: >> It’s awfully nice that in the British Isles, there’s still a vigorous >> ecosystem of regional and class accents; and it pleases me that the >> BBC lets non-RP-speakers on the air. > > The BBC used to air English lessons on their shortwave channels in years gone > by. I'm not sure how many Silklisters have spent hours listening to shortwave > radio as I have done but there is an old joke about the BBC and those lessons. > Will explain the punch-line after typing out the joke, which uses a sort of > black-white stereotype that was common in one era. > > An Englishman, a missionary, was lost in the African jungle. He was part > relieved - part terrified to meet a huge, black, bare chested man in a straw > skirt carying a spear. The missioanry raises his hands in the air and appeals > hopefully, saying, "I'm lost. Can you help me please?" > > He is amazed that the African tribal says in what sounds like almost perfect > English "Of course sir hzzzzzzz wrrrrrr phweeeeeee follow me please." > > The greatly relieved Englishman follows the African and they strike up a > conversation. The latter's English is perfect, except that it is punctuated by > non-words like bzzzzz phweeee and whrrrrr that are interspersed randomly > between perfect English words. > > A few hours later they reach civilization and the Englishman thanks the > African and comments, "Your English is perfect. Where did you learn it? And > pardon me for asking, but why do you make those sounds between words? It that > your African mother-tongue?" > > The African replies, "No sir. Those are not sounds. They are English words as > I heard them when I learned the language from the BBC's English lessons on my > shortwave radio" > > (The joke ends here, you're supposed to laugh) > > The sounds phwee, whrrr etc are what any listener hears between other things > on shortwave radio. I was told that random radio waves generate that noise > from interstellar electromagnetic radiation, but in my day I was also told > that the Russians and Chinese were generating radio noise to drown out the BBC > and VoA. > > shiv >
