Are accents snobbish

[678somean]

I know this is going to get me a lot of backlash. But I love a good debate so thought I'd pose the question....
I hate regional accents. I know they can't be helped but they sound so thick.
There was an article in the Guardian recently where they mentioned that people with regional accents go to speech therapy before moving to London in order to apply for jobs!
I think it's a smart move. But of course not a popular opinion.
I've worked with lots of people in high profile roles and honestly, whether people like it or not, the ones with RP are definitely taken more seriously and respected.
I've noticed all over England that the ones who are highly educated with good jobs rarely have their local accent and most have admitted that it's undesirable to have a regional accent and they are middle/upper class so don't speak with one.
Do others feel the same when applying for high status roles?

This thread reminds me of the Catherine Tate sketch

My my, how rude!

This is exactly why I posed the question. Because it is a thing! Whether people like it or not.
I assume the comments from angry people are ones who've never experienced this.

Maybe because she said she hates regional accents and they sound thick?

Anyone who uses the word "regional" to mean "not London" sounds thicker than the broadest Barnsley dialect.

I didn't say all. I said most. Which is true.

Whatever I think of your point, you sound “thick” yourself. Your title, “Are accents snobbish?” makes no sense - accents are not snobbish, people may be though.

Also you “didn’t want to say elocution lessons”? Why not? That would be the correct term for what you are suggesting, whereas “speech therapy” definitely is not. Why would you say something which is not the correct term for what you mean?

Is it because you’re thick?

Unsuccessful people with regional accents:
Professor Brian Cox
David Morrisey
Kirsty Wark
Graham Norton
David Olusoga
Neil Oliver
Victoria Wood
Michael Sheen
Marian Keyes
Lucy Worsley (the most south eastern and possibly the most disliked accent on the list)

There was an article in the Guardian recently where they mentioned that people with regional accents go to speech therapy before moving to London in order to apply for jobs!

That would be elocution lessons, not speech therapy which is for genuine speech difficulties such as stammering. You thick or what?

(Spoken in broad North London accent, because yes London has an accent too.)

Errrrr have you met all these headteachers and heard them speak?
Cannot believe that people like you actually have these beliefs ?
How do you cope with foreign accents OP ?
Are Welsh,Scottish and Irish people too thick for you ?
Also I suggest you google the difference between speech therapy and elocution lessons…you really are not very bright ,you must have one of those accents !!

I could listen to Brian Cox ALL day long.

Not even the Prince of Wales speaks using RP anymore.

Educate yourself before showing yourself up to be a snob and ignorant about language.

I could listen to Brian Cox ALL day long

Yeah, but he's obviously a right thicko with that accent.

@WanderingWitches fair enough. But another sad truth is that people judge others for all sorts of reasons all the time. We like to claim we don't, but we all do.

To quote someone whose name I cannot recall I always think 'what other people think of me is none of my business'.

(Easier said than done, though!)

True and sadly this thread will probably be deleted.

Which is a shame lest we forget that a lot of people do think like the OP.

I've done an AS.

She's not a troll. Just has "interesting" opinions. 😂

Sadly I don't think you're wrong that there is still judgement and discrimination against certain regional accents. As you yourself show in your OP.

I think Brummie, Lancashire and West Country accents, and maybe Geordie, are the ones most people would discriminate against. Less so manc and estuary / cockney depending on the industry you're in. Hoping this changes over time as it's ridiculous.

Posh people speak RP wherever they grow up.

I already addressed that it was elocution and not speech therapy. I was just quoting the article.
But thick London accents wouldn't make the cut either. It's not just a north/south divide.

This attitude is precisely why the UK has so many mediocre white men fucking up our businesses and government.

See, I hardly hear his accent. It's his fondling the invisible breasts as he talks that fascinates me.

You'll never be able to unsee it now! 😂

You're basing this on people who have moved to London though. If you move then maybe your accent changes yes to fit in or just because you're around a different accent.

There are successful people up here in the North you know and they have kept their accents.

However I do accept your point that there is snobbery around accents, of course there is as you've just called people with regional accents thick. So yes you're a snob.

Yes this incredibly snobbish

Well if everyone started to dilute their regional accent and dialect to sound more posh in a few generations everyone would sound the same no matter where they came from, and all that would achieve is losing some of these fabulous, unique accents and dialects forever and the posh snobs would find some other way of differentiating themselves from the great unwashed. Hold on to your accents lads it is who you are!
I am Irish and regional accents are absolutely fine here no negative connotations with any accent but I have noticed that as the younger generation spend more time online watching American tic toc influencers a lot are starting to talk with an American twang and it sounds terrible, imagine everyone sounding American 😩I hope as they age they revert back to their lovely Irish lilts

Your 'question' was actually phrased 'are accents snobbish?'

My question to you is, are you educationally sub-normal? You seem to have struggled to pose a coherent question and link it to your content.