Hi everyone,
I' m currently studying in the UK. I have to write an essay about British social class accents.
I would be glad if you would take some time to answer these questions.
You are very welcome to answer even if you are not British.
I have posted this questionnaire in 2 other forums before, because I need at least 30 people to answer it. It' s not spam
Brtish Social class accents
1. Do you think social class accents are still important today and why?
Yeah in advertising different social class accent a lot in product marketing and stuff like that so they must still be important i guess.
2. In what parts of life are they still important? Which parts of life are especially influenced by your social class accent? work, university...
At university i was told by some of my peers that I was 'common' because i come from somewhere where we don't pronounce our T's. we say sumfink, ain't etc. Some daft people seem to think there's a link between accent and intelligence - ever noticed how Brummies are often cast as stupid on TV? At work there is less stigma towards accents as i think people judge more on merit in the business world.
3. Received pronunciation, Queen's English, Oxford English, Posh English
-Do you think these are different terms for the same accent, or do you think they are different accents?
4. RP: your comments about RP - I think
5. Oxford English: your comments about Oxford English
6. Queen's English: if you have some comments - The Queen seems to have her own accent like no other. Its not the same as you're average 'posh' and i wouldn't say it was the same as RP which i tend to think of as being how that newsreader Moira thingemebob speaks. I have no idea what Oxford English is.
7. Posh English: here you can make some comments about posh English
8. Estuary English: room for your comments: I think of this as Zoe Ball's accent.
9. Slang: your comments typical slang expressions:
Slag is one of the greatests gifts to language and should be cherished. It shows how creative people can be with language and gives us more ways of describing the world we live in.
10. Some people say the Queen's accent has changed over the years.
-Do you think this is a good or a bad thing? Have you noticed a change in her accent? No, I think people often change their accents throughout their lives for several reasons though.
11. Here you can name some poeple who are typical RP (most newsreaders), Queen's English (Prince Charles), Oxford English , posh English (Tara Palmer Tomkinson), Estuary speakers (Jamie Oliver?)...
12. Do you think there is a tendancy for upper class people/ people who are very well-educated to hide their posh accent and to speak less posh? No I often think they are generally confident about their accents and not ashamed of them i think its more likely for someone whose accent who is 'common' to try to speak posh!
13. What is your general opinion about social class accents?
It would be so dull if everyone had the same accent - but i think people need to be more aware of the prejudices and assumptions they might make towards another person's accent. I'd be lying if I said i've never been irritated by someone with a really posh voice, and in the back of my mind thought they must be stuck up!
-Do think they should stay or do you think they should be abolished?
If there were no class accents then it might be possible to end any prejudices against accents and the class/social prejudices they are associated with but if you were to abolish them you'd have to decide which one to stick with and what makes one accent more worthy than another?
14. What kind of social class accent do you have yourself?
I have a southern accent that sounds cockney to everyone above the watford gap.
15. The future of British social class accents:
Which accents will comletely die out? Queen's English, RP?
Which social class accent will the majority of British people have in about 10-20 years?
Estuary? or something else?
Finally you can make some general comments on this topic if you like:
If you know some good websites about British social class accents you can write them down here:
Thank you very much!!!