The term accent refers to the pronunciation of language, while 'dialect' refers to the language differences on a broader level.
Accents may depend on the regional location, socio-economic status, or ethnicity of the speaker. An accent can be seen personally as any pronunciation that deviates from one's own.
A person's accent can be subjected to stereotyping, with specific traits, characteristics or roles believed to be attributed to different accents. No accent can be held as more or less correct than another, such is the nature of language. However, some accents carry with them more prestige, most notably Received English, due to the link with the English upper classes and social elite.
Conversely, people with non-standard English accents may be perceived as less intelligent, less competent or less educated. Speakers with accents often suffer from prejudice in housing and employment, particularly those with an ethnic or foreign accent, and this is a form of discrimation that has no strong oppostion in general society. According to Rosina Lippi-Green: "Accent serves as the first point of gate keeping because we are forbidden, by law and social custom, and perhaps by a prevailing sense of what is morally and ethically right, from using race, ethnicity, homeland or economics more directly. We have no such compunctions about language, however. Thus, accent becomes a litmus test for exclusion, and excuse to turn away, to recognize the other"
You make so many interesting points, here, Pete. You have considered the socio-economic importance of accents but why are working class men more likely to use non-standard accents and working class women more likely to speak with an R.P. accent ? Is gender and identity a major factor here?
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