WHAT CHARACTERIZES THE LANGUAGE USED ON THE RADIO? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The language used in radio is characterized by voice, music, sound effects and connection with the audience. How can you transmit a message to several people at the same time? It is a question that many people asked themselves in the 19th century.

People are always looking for ways to improve communication and thus be able to reach multiple places. Although the first mass media was the newspaper, it could only communicate what had happened before its publication.

The newspaper is limited to certain prints per day and usually focuses on the locality where it is printed. Radio was the first technology that made this desired mass communication possible.

Radio is a means of communication that is based on radio technology to transmit messages from broadcasters to listeners. Radio technology uses radio waves to carry information anywhere by means of electromagnetic energy waves, these are the frequency, the amplitude, etc.

The bases that founded the creation of radio were given thanks to the experiments of Nikola Tesla, who in 1893 in St. Louis-Missouri, managed to successfully transmit electromagnetic energy wirelessly.

After that Giuglemo Marconi, created and patented the first radio apparatus in 1897, the ancestor of modern radio. Radio made it possible for the first time to send sound signals from one side of the world to another.

Albert Einstein explained radio in 1938 this way: “You see, radio is like a very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and the cat meows in Los Angeles. You understand? The radio works the same way. You send signals from here and they receive them there, the only difference is that there is no cat ”.

Important features of radio language

The purpose of radio and radio programs is one: to be heard by several people at the same time.

There are radio programs that transcend the borders of the locality and become global stations, therefore, certain considerations must be taken when making a program.

The words used, the topics to be discussed, the environment; it depends on this that a radio program can be understood in multiple places in the world and that it can be broadcast for a long time.

There are stations that attract more listeners than others and make them stay tuned, this is due most of the time to the radio language they use.

1) Voice

Voice is probably the most important feature of radio language. Announcers must be extremely careful with everything that refers to the voice, since it is this that allows the transmitter-receiver connection.

The tone of voice and intonation is a characteristic that must be taken care of and perfected by the announcers. The announcers must have a pleasant voice to listen to.

Similarly, if they speak too slowly or too fast, it will be difficult to make yourself understood. Control of breathing plays a key role; heavy or poorly controlled breathing will interfere with the emission of the voice.

2) Sound effects

They are those used to create the environment, give effects to what is being said or even to describe situations.

When expressing everything without visual aid, the expression should be supported by sound effects that help the listener to understand what is happening.

For example, if the program is about a visitor and someone knocks on the door, a voice trying to imitate the sound is not the same as adding the sound effect of someone knocking on a door. This helps the listener to understand the announcer better.

If they refer to a story in a rainy environment, the background rain effect will make the listener enter the context of this story as they will hear the sound of rain.

Before television, there were radio soap operas that relied on these effects in order to represent history.

3) Music

Depending on the nature of the program, music can be used for many things. In the same way that sounds help, background music can be a good accompaniment to the voice and must also be chosen very carefully.

Nobody can hear an announcer with very loud music. For example, if it is a program about cooking, you cannot have heavy metal in the background because it is out of step with the type of program.

In addition to that, a music radio show should be up to date with its programming. The music should be music that the audience likes.

4) Clarity and choice of words

Sometimes, depending on their place of birth, the announcers may have a very strong accent from a certain region and speak in expressions limited to the locality.

This can cause problems, for this reason, announcers must use language that can be understood by all.

Also a factor that affects clarity is using words that are understandable to listeners. Using very complicated words will make it difficult for the audience to understand what is being said as they will have to analyze things and the context of the words.

5) Brevity

Making every second count is a rule of thumb on all radio shows. The stations generally have several radio programs throughout the day and therefore the duration of the programs has a limited time.

A good announcer must adapt his information to the duration of the program and not the other way around, therefore he must be brief and concise when speaking.

This does not mean being very formal, it means using the appropriate and necessary words to express what is owed in the time limit you have.

6) Connection with the audience

Although the purpose of radio is to address a mass audience, broadcasters cannot act as such.

In other words, referring to several people is always something "impersonal" and distant. Because of this, even if the announcer is speaking to thousands or millions, he must use language that helps him connect with his audience.

Each person who listens should feel that the speaker is speaking directly to them.

7) Silence

Although it is somewhat ironic, silence is important when you want to convey a message. Adding pauses in the right place while speaking can make it easier to understand what you want to express. Besides that, silence can be used in the same way as a sound effect.

In fact, most of the time it is used as such. Silence when used properly can generate expectations, add emphasis to what comes next, or simply give prominence to the sounds that will come after that pause.

Silence when you know how to use it can be a real way to improve the radio language.

References

1. «The Language of Radio» Retrieved on July 01, 2017, from culturca.narod.ru
2. Federal Communications Commission US (2003) «A Short History of Radio A Short History of Radio: With an Inside Focus on Mobile Radio» Retrieved on July 1, 2017, from transition.fcc.gov
3. Wyman, L. "The History of Communication Technology: Radio" Retrieved on July 1, 2017, from personal.psu.edu
4. Adams, M. «100 Years of Radio» Retrieved on June 30, 2017, from californiahistoricalradio.com
5. «Top 10 Qualities of a Great Broadcaster» Retrieved on June 30, 2017, from broadcastingschools.com
6. Hernandez, M (2012) «Speaking like a broadcaster» Retrieved on July 1, 2017, from jeadigitalmedia.org
7. Hallbrooks, G (2017) «How to Develop Your Voice for TV or Radio» Retrieved on July 1, 2017, from thebalance.com