Accents can shape our identity. They affect how we are seen, and how we like to be seen by others. They are a marker of geographical or societal belonging, and can give us a sense of being tied to family, friends or a community long after we have left it.
But things seem to be changing, with much having been written about how and why – and we would now like your help exploring the issue from your point of view.
What does your accent mean to you? Do you feel it is an important part of your identity? Do you feel you have “lost” or “gained” an accent due to moving or other factors, or has yours evolved over time? Have you been “judged” or treated differently due to an accent? Do you feel you have ever consciously affected an accent, or have others where you are from? Are yours and your family’s accents different from eachother? What does that mean to you?
In 2015 the then employment minister, Liverpool-born Esther McVey, responded to a discussion about class and accents saying we should not have to “neutralise” the way we speak to get on in work, but a Cambridge university study a year later has said Britons were doing so. Even the Queen’s accent is said to have “softened” over time. Is this natural as society changes, or are there other issues at play?
Share your views and experiences
To participate you can share your views in the form below, where there is opportunity to introduce other themes you think we should explore. We may contact you to discuss further and will feature some of the most interesting contributions in an upcoming article.
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