Our accents
are a denotative feature of our identity, but never should any stereotypes be
made, especially those regarding one’s intelligence, based on the accent that
we possess.
This belief,
which I strongly agree with, is one evoked within the article “Yorkshire named
top twang as Brummie brogue comes bottom” written by David Batty. Talking about
a study which displayed stereotypes towards those with the particular
Birmingham accent compared to other English accents and even silence, as people
believed models with this accent were less intelligent than those without.
This issue
is one we have previously discussed in class, especially within Amy Tan’s story
in which her mother was perceived as less intelligent due to inability to speak
English to a high degree. Throughout this I think we all agreed that never
should these assumptions be made based on completely unrelated aspects of
someone’s identity, such as accent or second language communication, but rather
on their ideas and thoughts.
This article
enlightened me in that I never considered that assumptions including level of
intelligence can be constructed based on something as miniscule as the pronunciation
of certain words. I think it will assist my journey as I strive to understand
the effect that language has on our identities and others’ perceptions of us.
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