Transcript History of Special English

An Introduction to VOA
Type :
international public broadcaster
Country:
United States
Founded:
1942
Headquarter: Washington
Owner:
Federal government of the United
States
Official website:www.voanews.com
Definition
 Voice of America (VOA) is the official external broadcast
institution of the United States federal government. It is one
of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working
under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors
(BBG).
 VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast
on radio and TV and the Internet outside of the U.S. in 43
languages.
 VOA produces about 1,500 hours of news and feature
programming each week for an estimated global audience
of 123 million people.
History
1.
VOA radio station , which was established in 1924, originally
for war information, and comes under the leadership of the
American International Communication Bureau.
2.
It is the most famous of the nineteen radio stations of the
United states of America for its propaganda to foreign
countries
3.
It now has sixteen broadcasting stations, sending news to
the whole world in forty one language day and night.
the Headquarter of VOA
Transmission facilities
VOA radio and television broadcasts are distributed
by satellite, cable and on FM, AM, and shortwave
（短波） radio frequencies. They are streamed on
individual language service websites, social media
sites and mobile platforms. VOA has more than
1,200 affiliate (分支机构）and contract agreements
with radio and television stations and cable networks
worldwide.
Languages
 The Voice of America
currently broadcasts in
44 languages (TV
marked with an
asterisk（星号）
 44 kinds of languages
used as follows:
Afan Oromo
Albanian*
Amharic
Arabic*
Armenian*
Azerbaijani*
Bengali*
Bosnian*
Burmese
Cantonese*
Creole
Croatian*
Dari*
English* (also
Special English)
French*
Georgian
Greek*
Hausa
Hindi
Indonesian*
Khmer
Kinyarwanda
Kirundi
Korean
Kurdish
Lao
Macedonian*
Mandarin*
Ndebele[
Pashto*
Persian*
Portuguese
Russian*
Serbian*
Shona
Somali
Spanish*
Swahili
Thai
Tibetan*
Tigrigna
Turkish*
Ukrainian*
Urdu*
Uzbek*
Vietnamese
The number of languages broadcast and the number
of hours broadcast in each language vary according to
the priorities of the United States Government and the
world situation.
In 2001, according to an International Broadcasting
Bureau (IBB) fact sheet, VOA broadcast in 53
languages, with 12 televised（电视转播）.
contents :
1.Special English
2.Standard English
according to the broadcasting speed.
History of Special English
The first Special English program was broadcast on the Voice of America
on October 19, 1959.
Forty years later, Special English continues to communicate with people
who are not fluent in English.
But during the years its role has expanded. It also helps people learn
American English. And it provides listeners, even those who are native
English speakers, with information they cannot find elsewhere.
Today, Special English broadcasts around the world seven days a week,
five times a day. Each half-hour broadcast begins with ten minutes of the
latest news followed by 20 minutes of feature programming .
Main characters
 Clearly
 Slowly
 Understandably
Why is it special
 It has a limited vocabulary of 1500 words. Most
are simple words that describe objects, actions or
emotions. Some are more difficult.
 Special English is written in short, simple
sentences that contain only one idea. No idioms
are used.
 Special English is spoken at a slower pace, about
two-thirds the speed of Standard English.
Special English
the radio time and frequency
Special English
weekly program schedule
Two categories
News Program
Feature Program
News Programs
1) It broadcasts to listeners a variety of
information on all aspects of the major events
and wonders around the world .
2) It broadcasts five times a day to Southeast
Asia(twice a morning ,three times a night),
the slightest punctual delivery.
Feature Programs
A.
Every 5 minutes one topic
(report)
Sun.
Words and Their Stories
Mon. Development Report
Tue.
Agriculture Report
Wed. Science Report
B. Every 15 minutes one topic
(feature)
Sun.
People in America
Mon.
This is America
Tue.
Science in the News
Wed.
Space and Man
Thu.
Science Report
Thu.
The Making of a Nation
Fri.
Environment Report
Fri.
American Mosaic
Sat.
In the News
Sat.
American Stories