We all have an accent.
No accents are objectively ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than others.
Accent
Pronunciation associated with a social identity or group, e.g., age, gender, region, social class
Dialect
A variety of a language (pronunciation, words, grammar, etc.) that is associated with a social identity or group.
We all have an accent. The way we speak is influenced by those we grew up around, including our friends and parents. An accent can be used to infer social information about the speaker such as their gender identity, their social class, or their sexuality. An accent is part of your identity.
Sociolinguists have long argued that there is no one ‘correct’ variety of English (or any other language!). There are simply different ways of speaking or using language. All of these are legitimate. Speakers abide by a set of linguistic rules. Most of the time, people are not even aware of that they follow these rules.
The class system is still highly relevant to life in the UK today. One of the primary ways that people distinguish between individuals from working-class and middle-class backgrounds is accent. Some accents like RP are associated with the social elite, whilst others like Cockney are associated with the working-class community.
We go through life learning the social connotations of different accents. If you are not familiar with an accent, you may not have a knowledge of the associated social meanings of that accent. We acquire this knowledge through exposure and interaction.
But whilst accents can provide clues to someone’s social background, they really can’t tell us anything about more abstract or personal qualities of the speaker, like their intelligence, competence, or reliability.
What are some accents spoken in the UK?
Scottish Standard English: Often thought to be Standard English with a Scottish accent, typically associated with middle-class urban speakers.
Received Pronunciation: A variety of English typically spoken by the social elite across the UK (often called “‘King’s” or “BBC” English)
Multicultural British English: A newer variety of English that emerged in London but has spread across the UK. Often associated with ethnic-minority speakers
‘Glaswasian’: An accent of Scottish English spoken by South Asians living in Glasgow
The UK has some of the highest levels of accent diversity in the English speaking world. Many of these accents continue to reference regional and national differences. Often, speakers of ‘non-standard’ accents are ‘corrected’ by teachers, parents, and other linguistic gate-keepers.
In Scotland, the Scots language which is often associated with working-class speakers, has historically been stigmatized. Many Scots speakers recall being told to “speak properly” at school whilst others contend with an ideology that it is ‘impolite’ to speak Scots.