How many regional accents can you think of in the UK?
There are at least 40 common ones, nevermind variations within cities, for example.
What’s your accent?
Have you ever experienced accent discrimination?
Type in the comments section.
According to a recent Guardian article it appears that not all accents are created equal.
I don’t often give my opinion in this channel, however in this case I won’t hold back.
This is a disgrace.
This is discrimination, accent discrimination, accent prejudice, accentism.
No different to racism, sexism or ageism and it needs to be talked about.
Let’s dive straight into the article.
UK's top universities urged to act on classism and accent prejudice.
Investigation finds widespread evidence of students being ridiculed over their backgrounds.
A Guardian investigation has found widespread evidence of students at some of the country’s
leading universities being ridiculed over their accents and backgrounds, in some cases
prompting them to leave education.
The analysis found discrimination against working-class students was particularly prevalent
among Russell Group universities.
The group, which is made up of 24 institutions, has a reputation for academic excellence.
This reads like classism and elitism to me.
According to Sammy Wright, the lead commissioner on schools and higher education for the Social
Mobility Commission:
“But we also found that social and economic disadvantage often hampered any chance to
move out.
Accent is a part of this, alongside cultural capital and social networks.
In my own work in schools in the north-east, accent can become a marker of everything else,
a tangible barrier – most of all to the young people themselves, who internalise a
sense of social inferiority.”
What a disaster!
The OfS director for fair access and participation, Chris Millward, said the issue of accent prejudice
spoke to deeper inequalities in the education system.
“It is crucial that universities strive to create an open and inclusive culture for
all.
There is no such thing as a ‘right’ accent or background for higher education – all
students deserve the opportunity to thrive, no matter where they come from,” he said.
Spot on, such a shame that it has to be said!
Let’s look at a couple of case studies, all links are in the description.
Nina White, 26, from Stockton-on-Tees, studied English and theatre at the University of Warwick
“It sounds ridiculous, but I only realised I had what people regarded as a strong regional
accent when I first began my undergraduate studies.
Mocking of my accent was immediate and I was shocked at the perceptions of people from
the north-east.
The perception of me was that if I had a drink I would become aggressive and scrappy, and
this was all because I was from the north.
I am neither of those things.
Christopher Burden, 24, from the Black Country, studied modern languages at the University
of Birmingham
“After peer-assessed presentations I became very used to negative feedback where they
would say they couldn’t understand me.
Students would also regularly announce that they didn’t want to work with me because
I would somehow bring their grade down because of my background.
“It feels weird to talk about bullying as an adult, but ultimately the way students
talked about me, dreaded having me in a presentation group and otherwise judged me for being working
class was truly intolerable at times.”
Regarding accents, the overarching principle must be communication - about understanding
others and in particular, others understanding you.
For instance, during my 8 years teaching Maths in England, I had to adapt certain words from
my Northern Irish accent so that the learners could understand what was being said.
I mean, there was no chance they’d grasp tricky mathematical concepts if they couldn’t
even figure out what was being spoken.
So instead of saying a scalene triangle, I had to say a scalene triangle.
This wasn’t accentism on their part, it was about the necessity of communication.
And that’s fine.
What’s shown in these articles, however, is not.
For more information I suggest checking out these articles and the accentism
project, outstanding research carried out by Manchester Metropolitan University.
All links are in the description below.
Rather than having accent discrimination, to discover in detail exactly which accent
is the best for you, watch this video.