I don't know how many of you saw this snippet: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/030306/80/dusp4.html. No doubt the political implications of the broadcast are being much debated elsewhere (and that debate can stay there), but I was wondering what people thought about the linguistic point.

When somebody's words are turned into English and broadcast, should the voice used have the accent associated with the place the original speaker comes from (from an actor assuming the accent if necessary), or should a less obtrusive, ordinary broadcast accent be used? Or should it be irrelevant, so long as it's comprehensible to the intended audience?

Bingley

Bingley