We recognize others are like us through the way they sound': how accents shape our lives

"Humans instinctively to use accents to categorize those around us. We learn to recognize other people as being like us through the way that they sound, Fridland says. It happens early: studies suggest small children, when choosing friends, favor those who share their accent. In one study, for instance, five- and six-year-olds were shown pairs of kids on a computer screen, one with a local Canadian accent and one with a British accent. Asked who they wanted to be friends with, they picked the kid with the local accent even though they lived in Toronto and are exposed to a huge range of accents every day."

"Our accent-based judgments lead to serious problems, fueling stereotypes about class, ethnicity and regional background. That can take a toll in a range of high-stakes scenarios, including job interviews, when someone with a posher accent might be deemed more capable than someone with a more working-class one. It can lead to assumptions about how someone thinks, as in a study that found subjects assume politicians with southern accents are making conservative arguments. It can even affect the way juries react to witnesses, as Fridland believes happened in the trial of George Zimmerman."

"What happens when we lose a language? Fridland, a linguistics professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, is herself a case study in how accents develop. She grew up in the American south Memphis, Tennessee with parents who had French accents. Being surrounded by people who were very aware of outsider opinions of their accents primed me from a young age to be curious about why they were such markers of identity, she says."

"Accent discrimination has been around since ancient times, Fridland writes; it even comes up in the Old Testament, when one Semitic tribe, the Gileadites, identified enemy Ephraimites by demanding they pronounce the word shibboleth with ruinous consequences if they "

Humans use accents to categorize people and to recognize others as similar. This pattern begins early, with studies showing young children prefer peers who share their accent even when they live in places with many accents. Accent-based judgments can reinforce stereotypes tied to class, ethnicity, and region. These biases can influence high-stakes settings such as job interviews, where a “posher” accent may be treated as evidence of greater capability. Accents can also affect assumptions about political thinking, with southern-accent speakers linked to conservative arguments. Accent perceptions can even shape jury reactions to witnesses. Accent discrimination has historical roots, including references in ancient texts.

Read at www.theguardian.com