The BBC maintains a policy of avoiding solecism or offence by ascertaining the pronunciation of British personal and place names by reference to the bearers of the name or the inhabitants of the place. The BBC Pronouncing Dictionary represents more than 50 years of research, listing over 20,000 examples drawn from the files of the corporation's pronunciation unit. Pronunciations are given in the international phonetic alphabet and in a modified conventional spelling. The diversity of British proper names, including those with an innocent appearance which conceals some trap of pronunciation, those of foreign origin which may have been to some extent Anglicized, or those using Welsh or Scots orthography, makes this dictionary a useful tool for all users of English, both native speakers and foreigners.