The BBC's Advisory Committee on Spoken English was established to provide an authentic guide to pronunciation and language use for BBC announcers. The outcomes of its discussions were published for general consumption in a series of pamphlets titled Broadcast English. Based on primary sources, the compelling history of the Committee during its first crucial 13 years is presented here for the first time. It reveals how its members, including George Bernard Shaw and A. Lloyd James, found that the standardization and regulation of spoken language is extremely difficult and particularly controversial. The first two chapters describe the linguistic aspects of its work, especially after it took on the role of standardizing Spoken English, a mission that far exceeds its mandate and the BBC Charter. The third and fourth chapters examine the challenges the Committee faced as it undertook its leadership role, the structural crisis that arose, and the changes in language policy.