People with Brummie accents are perceived as the least intelligent in the country because of an assumption that they are likely to be criminals, according to a new study.

 

Psychologists also claimed that a Yorkshire accent has overtaken the Queen's English as the pronunciation most strongly associated with wisdom and intellect.

 

"We have seen a cultural evolution that has seen regional dialects being seen in a more positive light, although some more than others," observed Dr Lance Workman, who is head of psychology at Bath Spa University. He revealed the results of the study at the British Psychological Society conference in Dublin.

 

Do accents matter? Are you prejudiced against people who speak with a Brummie twang? Which accent indicates wit and wisdom to you? Have you ever encountered bias because of your own accent?

 

Do you agree with the participants in the study who suggested that the Queen's English sounds "flat and dull"?

 

Source: Sunday telegraph

yes, accents matter, they make up the varied rich use of language we use.

It would be a very dull place if we all spoke with the same accent. Yes we make assumptions based on a person's accent and a lot of the time that assumption will be wrong. However, the survey also showed that perceptions have changed in a relatively short time. People with a Yorkshire accent are now perceived in a much more positive way than they were only 5-10 years ago. So perhaps one day people with a Brummie accent will be seen as intelligent.

Personally, I love to hear the regional accents of the UK and I certainly don’t make assumptions about a person just because of the way they speak. I’m not a Brummie but as I came to live in Birmingham at a very early age, yes, I do have a Brummie accent, but no, I’m neither thick nor have criminal tendencies :lol:

I’m not particularly wild about the Brummie accent but I do find it is often exaggerated where fictional characters are portrayed on television and many people confuse the Birmingham accent with the Black Country accent, often combining the two to create something else. Like everywhere, we are all individuals and our character is far more important than the way we speak.

I like accents; it makes things more interesting.