In 2011 I conducted a survey with my colleagues at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, into how certain accents were perceived. We asked participants whether certain accents were ‘trustworthy’ or whether they communicated an underlying meaning to the words. We discovered that strong regional accents, as well as heightened Received Pronunciation (RP) all came in for their share of criticism.
Criticism about accent often stems from old associations with cultural habits. For example, people with a Yorkshire (and Scottish) accent were associated with being tight with their money. Those with a Birmingham accent were consistently associated with having a poor education.
The BBC reported a survey conducted on 2022 by Accent Bias in Britain, which discovered that one in four people have their accents mocked at work. An entrenched ‘hierarchy of accent’ caused social anxiety throughout some peoples’ lives, the report concluded.
It seems that most people who experienced perceived prejudiced attitudes also experienced anxiety over their career prospects. Concerns over accents were most pronounced in university settings, with 35% of students admitting to feeling self-conscious about the way they spoke.
A long-term bias seems to persist in terms of accent and association with negative traits, according to the research.
“It is normal for humans to have stereotypical associations with accents,” the researchers said. “However, if left unchecked, these biases and stereotypes can be used to judge independent skills and abilities, leading to discriminatory behaviour.”
Senior managers from working-class backgrounds were consequently far more likely to worry that their accents could be barriers to their progression, with 29% highlighting such concerns compared to 22% from a “better off background”.
Many successful people have strong regional accents, like Adrian Chiles (broadcaster and presenter), Jess Phillips (MP) and Sir Lindsay Harvey Hoyle (former leader of the House of Commons). They have succeeded because of their ability, fortitude and persistence which may or may not include bias they experienced because of their accent.
People with heightened RP accents can also experience a form of discrimination, due to the association between accent and wealth, advantage and / or entitlement. There have been reports of people being ‘too posh’ and assessed as not needing a particular job, due to their perceived wealth.
Whatever your accent, it is vitally important to speak clearly, with impact and confidence. It may not be necessary to change your accent if you learn to speak well.
The main barrier to communication is not accent, it is often the speed at which people speak – in other words – people speak too fast. Speaking quickly, mumbling, poor body posture all contribute to a perception of low status.
Learning to speak well can mean improving your accent, but it can also mean creating new speech habits.
This January, we can all begin a new resolution to speak more clearly. Speak more slowly, speak more carefully and remember to create a good body posture while we’re talking. This should help enormously.
If you need some help with your accent, to improve your confidence or help with your upcoming interview, please get in touch for a free chat.