Accentism on the media

Here is a curated list of recent newspaper articles covering the topic of linguistic and accent discrimination. If you happen to find some news that is relevant to the subject, please drop us a line!

Media stories

‘I know how they feel, the fear of speaking because of their strong accents’ (01 May 2024, UK)We speak the same language (7 May 2024, US)
Accent bias and language discrimination in the creative industries (15 February 2023, UK)
Actor told he’d need to lose his Scouse accent says Liverpool is actually a big asset (March 2024, UK)
Fundy baby voice-shaming (14 March 2024, Language: the feminist guide)
U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Reminds Schools of Their Legal Obligation to Address Discrimination Against Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian, Hindu, and Palestinian Students (14 March 2024, US)
Exploring the linguistics and social perceptions of Andalusian Spanish (22 April 2024)
‘It didn’t stop me’: pushing beyond discriminatory remarks from customers to champion inclusivity (5 March 2024, AUS)
“Just Get Rid of It”: Hollywood’s Accent Problem (6 August 202, US)
Why French regional accents are rare on TV (17 January 2024, FR)
Stop stereotyping Appalachian accents (21 January 2024, US)
Transplanted to the US as a child, two accents seemed like a great idea. Until my first playdate (26 December 2023, UK)
Accent discrimination: drawing attention to an invisible minority (17 June 2021, US)
Il razzismo in Italia è qualcosa con cui mi interfaccio ogni giorno (article with paywall) (17 December 2023, IT)
UK cop convicted of gross misconduct for mimicking woman’s Indian accent (27 November 2023, The Shillong times, India)
Inclusive education: Investigating accent prejudice at Bristol University (15 November 2023, Epigram, UK)
Is being Turkish my only personality trait? (15 November 2023, US)
Nous avons tous un accent. Voici pourquoi « l’accentisme » est une forme de discrimination contribuant au racisme (07 November 2023, The Conversation)
Why Chadwick Boseman’s fight for African accents in ‘Black Panther’ was so important (01 September 2020, The Washington Post)
Tower Of Babble: Nonnative Speakers Navigate The World Of ‘Good’ And ‘Bad’ English (25 April 2021, National Public Radio)
Accents and AI: how speech recognition software could lead to new forms of discrimination (07 November 2021, The National News)
The state school experience at the University of Edinburgh (26 October 2023, The Student)
‘We still make judgments from the way people talk’: Rob Drummond decodes accent prejudice” (08 October 2023, The Guardian)
Discrimination is the biggest career obstacle for women of colour in the NHS – new research( 03 October 2023, The Conversation)
Cozen Partner Named in Discrimination Suit Joins London Fischer (19 September 2023, US)
The pervasive problem of ‘linguistic racism’ (03 June 2021, UK)
Fertitta’s Landry’s chain is sued by EEOC for allegedly picking on an Iranian employee (25 September 2023, US)
Discrimination: a practical case to follow up with the latest legislative improvements (25 September 2023, Belgium)
Accent bias and risks for employers (26 September 2023, UK)
Adults missing out on jobs because of their accent, study for Co-op suggests (The Irish News, 15 June 2023)
One in four have accents mocked at work – survey (03 November 22, UK)
Revealed: The UK’s least respected accent (03 November 22, UK)
The King’s English still reigns among workers and students (02 November 22, UK)
Can you ‘lose’ an accent? And more importantly, why would you want to? (03 November 22, UK)
People mocked and criticised for their accents throughout their lives, report says (03 November 22, UK)
‘Open your mouth, you’re at a disadvantage’: The UK has accent bias – but who does it affect most? (03 November 22, UK)
English teacher reveals the bad habits that make you sound ‘dumb’ – including saying ‘like’ when you’re lost for words and using upward inflection (11 September 19, UK)
Accentism: is it time for protected status? (17 August 22, UK)
How Accent Discrimination Has Impacted My Life (22 August 21, UK)
Putting the Accent On Prejudice (02 August 21, UK)
BBC’s Alex Scott ‘proud’ of working class accent after peer’s elocution jibe (31 July 21, UK)
How the civil service is posher than in the 1960s (20 May 21, UK)
How international teaching assistants learn to sound like engineers (12 January 21, Canada)
Accents that face the most discrimination revealed in study (27 November 19, UK)
Speakin while female (12 January 15, US)

Accentism on social media

On accents

Farewell to King’s English? Traditional accents on the decline, study finds #UKaccents #accents
Would you Adam and Eve it – cockney’s out. We’re all speaking multicultural now
This article reports about research carried out by CIRCE Advisor Amanda Cole about the changing distribution of accents among young Britons, with cockney and received pronunciation being replaced by MLE, estuary English and standard southern British English.
Understanding all kinds of English accent can improve empathy and learning – and even be a matter of life and death
In this article, CIRCE Advisor Alex Baratta argues that wider exposure to all accents of English can only but improve empathy and communication, even if Received Pronunciation and Standard American English remain highly sought-after accents to be imitated to improve social mobility. Key sentence: “A global language, after all, will have global accents.”
Mads Mikkelsen spiega perché interpreta sempre il cattivo: “È per l’accento”. #accent #accentstereotypes #accentsofenglish
Say what? British tourist says he’s struggling to understand Singaporean accent #accentsofenglish
Why Lancashire is one of last homes of traditional English accent (article with paywall) #accent #accentofenglish
Transplanted to the US as a child, two accents seemed like a great idea. Until my first playdate
Code-switching: the pressure on people to change how they speak
Why some people lose their accents but others don’t – linguistic expert (30/03/23, UK)