Accentism is alive and well – and it doesn’t only affect the north of England

“It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman despise him,” George Bernard Shaw wrote in the preface to Pygmalion in 1913. Recent headlines suggest that accent prejudice (or “accentism”) is no relic of the past but continues to blight the university experience of many students. Even at northern universities, students from the north of England face commentary and ridicule for their accents.

There is a hierarchy of accents in Britain which has changed little over the years. The accents of Britain’s highest classes are seen as neutral, “accentless” and correct, while others are seen as divergent or inferior and are often stigmatised. As such, those who have “non-standard” accents are seen as legitimate and admissible targets for comment and judgement. They are also saddled with an apparent responsibility to change how they sound.

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