Out of a top score of seven, the British ranked different accents in 2019 and the RP accent was rated the highest with a score of 5.23, followed by French, 4.56, Scottish, 4.12, American, 4, 07, Southern Irish, 3.99, and German, 3.88.
In contrast, the lowest ranked accent is Birmingham at 3.2. This was followed by Liverpool, 3.28, India, 3.38, Afro-Caribbean, 3.52, Manchester, 3.58, West Country, 3.73, and Wales, 3.87.
“I’m afraid people think I’m stupid”
In one case study, a student with a Birmingham accent told researchers: “I’m always being made to repeat myself so that some Southerner can repeat it stilted…
“I’m afraid people think I’m stupid, sad, or emotionally withdrawn because of the ‘monotonous Brahmi sound’ (which I don’t think exists and is terrible).”
The report said: “In the UK, a long history of social hierarchy based on class has established a deep-rooted hierarchy of emphasis based on prestige” and this is particularly evident in the “overwhelming presence of RPs in leadership positions”.
For example, RP remains the main focus for newsreaders in major television networks, parliament, politics, the civil service, courtrooms and the corporate sector.
The research – by researchers from the Accent Bias in Britain project – also found that 30 per cent of students and 29 per cent of applicants (mostly 17-18-year-olds) reported having been ‘taunted, criticized or singled out’ in educational settings as a result of their accents, and 25 percent of professionals report the same in work environments.
These experiences are particularly prevalent for people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, who report significantly more ridicule or isolation in the workplace or in social settings.
Over a quarter (29 per cent) of senior managers from working-class families said they had been mocked or criticized in the workplace for their accent, compared with 22 per cent of those from better-off backgrounds.
Accent bias as a discriminatory problem in the workplace
The study also gathered evidence of experience with accent bias and anxiety. Many respondents reported pressure to “change their accent against their wishes.” According to the researchers, this is a social burden for certain groups who must distance themselves from their own communities, exacerbating the pressure on those who may face disadvantages of another kind.
The report issued recommendations to employers to view accent bias as a discriminatory issue in the workplace and take it as seriously as “other types of discrimination such as sexism, racism or ableism”.
Professor Devyani Sharma of Queen Mary University of London, an author of the report, said the research “shows that the long-standing hierarchy of accent prestige in Britain is still in place”.
“Accent discrimination actively disadvantages certain groups at key moments for social mobility, such as job interviews. This creates a negative cycle in which regional accents, working-class accents and minority ethnic accents are heard less in some careers or positions of power, increasing the anxiety and marginalization of these speakers.
“It’s natural for people to associate accents with social groups, but relying on accent stereotypes to judge occupational ability in this way is discriminatory.”
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