Transcript

Voice 1 

Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geertsma.

Voice 2 

And I’m Robin Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for

people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Voice 1 

The year is 1876.  Alexander Graham Bell is just about to test his new invention - the telephone.  His

assistant, Thomas Watson, is helping him.  Bell is sitting in one room of his laboratory.  Watson is in

another room.  Bell speaks into the new telephone device.  He says,

Voice 3 

“Mister Watson - come here – I want you.”

Voice 1 

The sound of Bell’s voice travels over the telephone wire.  In the other room, Watson hears his

words.

Voice 2 

These were the first words spoken on the world’s first telephone.  But soon, telephones were in

homes all over the world. People began talking on the telephone often.  And the invention of the

telephone began changing the way people spoke to each other.  Today’s Spotlight is on how the

invention of telephone has changed the English language.

Voice 1 

Usually, language takes a very long time to change. However, new technologies can quickly

increase the rate of change.  Compared to many languages, English is not a very old language. Old

English developed in the middle of the 5th century - from a mix of other languages in Europe. It has

changed slowly over many centuries.  And today, the English language is very different than it was in

the 5th century.

Voice 2 

However, language is always changing. And often, technology is an important reason for that

change. One early technology that changed spoken language was writing.

In earlier centuries, language was not written down very often. But once people started writing more,

it changed the way they spoke. The more people wrote and read, the more their spoken language

changed.  Then, in the 15th century, a German inventor named Gutenberg invented the printing

press.  This machine printed books much faster than people could copy them by writing. Having

more books meant more people reading, instead of just speaking.  The printing press changed

language even more.

Voice 1 

Over the past 100 years, technology has changed very quickly. And language has changed very

quickly as well. In particular, telephones have greatly changed the way people speak. The English

word “Hello” is one example of these changes.

Voice 2 

When Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call, he did not say “hello.” The telephone

was a new invention.  People had not established a common way to speak to each other on it. It was

a long time before English speakers developed a set way of answering the telephone.

Voice 1 

Now, almost every English speaker answers the telephone by saying “Hello.”  But before the

telephone, people did not say “hello” to greet each other. Instead, when they saw someone, they

would say: “Good morning, good day, or good night.”

Voice 2 

When the telephone was invented, “Hello” was a very new word to the English language. The Oxford

English Dictionary says that “hello” became a common part of English language in 1827.  And

instead of being used as a greeting, “hello” had a very different meaning.  “Hello” was used to bring

notice to something or to express surprise.  People would say things like this:

Voice 4 

“Hello! Your horse just stepped in my flowers!”

Voice 5 

“Hello! What is your dog doing to my fence?”

Voice 4 

“Hello! What are you doing?”

Voice 1 

“Hello” was not Alexander Graham Bell’s choice for a telephone greeting.  In fact after inventing the

telephone, Bell suggested a different telephone greeting.  He thought people should answer the

telephone and say “Ahoy.” “Ahoy” was a word used by sailors to greet each other. Often, this

greeting was extended into “Ahoy-hoy.” When the telephone began to be used in homes, Bell

thought that “Ahoy-hoy” would be the perfect greeting.

Voice 2 

But Bell’s idea did not spread. Instead, telephone companies published books with directions on how

to answer the telephone. They suggested that people answer with a firm and happy “hulloa”. “Hullo”

was how people in the United Kingdom pronounced the American version of the same word - “hello”.

Voice 1 

After “hello” became the set way of answering the telephone, it started to become a part of normal

conversation.  When people saw each other, they began saying “hello” instead of “Good morning or

good day.” Now, “hello” is the most common English greeting for any situation.

Voice 2 

However, sometimes technology does not have the power to change language. Sometimes, words

and sayings are just too established.  The invention of the telephone provides a good example of

this as well.  Remember the telephone guide that suggested “hulloa” as a telephone greeting?  It

also suggested a way to end a telephone call. The book suggested that people should say “That is

all.” But now, most English speakers end a telephone call by saying “Goodbye.”  “Goodbye” has long

been the established English word for ending a meeting or conversation. And even the telephone

was not able to change this.

Voice 1 

Ammon Shea is a writer.  He writes about the English language.  And he wrote a book on the history

of the American telephone book. He told the news organization NPR:

Voice 6 

“To me, ’That is all’ seems like a more honest and clear way to end a telephone call than goodbye...I

would like to see ‘That is all’ return in common English speech. I have decided to try and use it in the

few telephone calls I make and receive.”

Voice 2 

It is likely that Shea, and all of us, will see the English language change again. In the future, people

may end phone calls with “that is all.” But for now, English speakers are happy to use “hello” and

“goodbye.”

Voice 1 

The telephone continues to change how people use the English language. Now, it is mobile

telephones that are changing language quickly. Many mobile telephones do more than just make

and receive calls. They can also send short, written messages called “texts.” These texts have to be

short.  So, people will often shorten words. They will also shorten whole sets of words or phrases.

Sometimes these phrases are only three letters long - like “Laughing Out Loud” becomes LOL. Or,

“Oh My Goodness” becomes OMG. Usually, people only write these shortened English phrases. But

sometimes, they even speak them out loud in a joking way,

Voice 5 

“LOL. That is so funny!”

Voice 2 

It is too early to tell if ‘texting’ will change spoken language the way that the invention of the

telephone did. But we can know one thing for sure.  Today’s English language will continue to

change.  And in fifty years, we might be surprised by what we hear.

Voice 1 

The writer of this program was Dianna Anderson. The producer was Ryan Geertsma. The voices

you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this

program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet

at http://www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, “The Telephone and the English Language.”

Voice 2 

We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.