I often listen to the BBC throughout the day. If nothing more than to hear some world news reports and avoid the sensational crime and celebrity reports that pollute most U.S.-based news outfits. Sure I spend some time with C-Span and NPR, but the BBC offers a fresh broadcast.

Honestly, what sparked this blog was an experience I had with my husband while driving the long 6 to 7 hours from Milwaukee to Detroit. Our rule is that the driver gets to choose the radio station. In my case, more often than not, this means news or talk radio. On one of those recent trips, I was listening to the BBC and he questioned me on it – “why do you listen to this? It’s annoying.”

The material provides me a view of the international stories that I like to hear, and I enjoy the passion with which the English conduct governmental business. However, I have to tell you…I think the real reason that I listen is because it sounds more intelligent, and I don’t mean the accent.

Sure, the accent is proper, and therefore may sound a little “uppity”, but I mean the vocabulary. The words actually spoken. How diverse is your vocabulary or that of people you know? Do you often learn new words? Do you look up words when you hear them and don’t know the meaning?

I often find myself looking for a simpler term when I think a word is what we often call word-nerdy. At the risk of sounding uppity, I sometimes like to use the best word for the situation even if it is unfamiliar to your “average joe.”