Do you call the bathroom “barta”? Would you put a “plaster” on the incision? Does it matter if you don’t? Yes, unfortunately, say scientists who say accentism is alive and well in England in 2022.
Next week, a research team will open a shop at the British Academy’s main headquarters overlooking the London Mall, shedding light on a large-scale project examining prejudice against North English accents and their speakers.
On many levels, the topic of how people talk is fun. But it is also important, researchers say, because of the “deep” negative social, economic and educational consequences for speakers with blackened accents.
“This is a prejudice that can dare to say its name,” said Dr. Robert Mackenzie, who is leading the Northumbria University project. “We are not allowed to be gender biased, we are not allowed to be biased in sexual orientation.
But denigrating accents is still allowed, he said. “All you have to do is watch an episode of The Simpsons to see how the people of the southern states are portrayed. Surprisingly, I think people still disagree with that. “
For four years, Mackenzie and his team studied how English people valued northern and southern English accents. They explored overt and implicit – in other words, unconscious – prejudices.
For people with strong northern accents, the conclusions are not good. “People really think that speakers in the north of England are less intelligent, less ambitious, less educated, and so on, just the way they talk,” Mackenzie said.
“On the other hand, people in the south are considered more ambitious, more intelligent.”
People in the north were also “stereotypical as friendly, sociable and reliable people from the salt of the earth.”
Mackenzie’s study found large differences between self-assessed and implicit biases. “The negativity towards the North English speaker or the speaker of northern English was much more extreme, much more intense when you look at the implicit level.
“This tells us that on a conscious level people are less prejudiced than ever, but on an implicit level we still have these biases.
A century ago, George Bernard Shaw wrote: “It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making another Englishman despise him.
That may not be the case today, but prejudice remains, Mackenzie said. “The north of England is becoming less and less stigmatized, but change is very, very slow.
“It’s easy to come across a really rude person and tell people that they shouldn’t be prejudiced, but it’s important. We find that children with stigmatized accents are less likely to get high grades in school. People are more likely to be found guilty in court. They are less likely to be offered a job after an interview. They are less likely to gain access to social housing.
“These things really have implications in the real world.”
Each year, the British Academy opens its doors to a summer showcase of its funded research, declared a “free festival of ideas for curious minds”.
He’s been online for the last two years. This year, Mackenzie and his team will be one of 12 projects to participate, with visitors invited to come and share their own experiences with prejudice on the focus or participate in interactive activities.
This will involve listening to northern and southern English accents and also asking you the difficult question of where the north or south of England begins.
“That must be interesting,” Mackenzie said. “Southerners tend to start south just above London, while my students in Newcastle set south just below Middlesbrough.”
He hopes that politicians will come and support the project and its campaign to turn the focus into a protected feature under the Equality Act.
“Just as people shouldn’t be addicted to gender or addicted to fat or thin people, we shouldn’t be addicted to accents,” Mackenzie said.
Mackenzie cited Labor Jess Phillips as an example of an accent politician.
Another, less obvious political victim was Jacob Rees-Mogg. “He was running for parliament in Fife a long time ago, he was obviously being tested,” Mackenzie said. “He said he felt he was suffering in the election because of his accent that people would not vote for him because they saw him as an outsider. So it works both ways. “
The summer showcase of the British Academy will be held from 17 to 18 June.
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