A recent report from The Herald named Glaswegian students as victims of accent-based discrimination at the University of Edinburgh.
When asked about their experiences with accent bias, one Glaswegian student stated:
“I’ve definitely experienced it socially. I’ve overheard English people on campus before saying the accent is ‘ugly’ and that ‘it’s ‘not proper English’.”
Another Scottish student told The Student about their experience with accent bias in academic settings:
“Even though my accent isn’t that strong, I’ve felt I don’t get taken as seriously in tutorials. But I’m not sure if it’s just my own insecurities about being surrounded by English people who sound more like ‘classic’ university students.”
Concern about sounding smart is not something limited to Scottish students – speakers of other regional and international accents feel similarly about being judged for how they sound.
Preconceived notions of sounding smart mean that any student who does not use Received Pronunciation (RP) can face being othered and labeled as less intelligent by biased individuals.
This can create linguistic discrimination in academic and social settings.
The university is aware of the issue. Dr Christian Illbury, a senior lecturer in linguistics, has been running training in accent bias and linguistic discrimination for students and staff since joining the university in 2022.
Dr Illbury told The Student:
“The only way we can start to address the problem is by talking about it and to acknowledge that this is a legitimate form of discrimination.
“People shouldn’t be disadvantaged for speaking in a particular accent or using a non-standardized variety of English (or any other language!) because all forms of language are valid.”
He continued: “If you hear someone say something negative about someone’s accent or the way they speak, shut that comment down.”
“And, because we all have an accent, we should be proud of the way we speak”
Dr Illbury has published his research on accent bias in a report for The Sutton Trust. He also hosted an event in April for students to learn about tackling accent biases.
“Edinburgh Futures Institute seminar room” by Arcaist is licensed under CC BY 4.0.