Aims
In 2004,
BBC held a research to find out about people’s attitude towards different
dialects and accents across the British Isles. 5000 people took part in the
online survey.
Methodology
The
online poll, hosted on the Greenfield website, was undertaken between 17th-26th
November 2004, in which there were around 5010 respondents who completed the
entire survey, and were all aged 15+. The sample nationally was a ratio of 49(male):51(female). It was middle-age
spread; with 25-64s of whom were
over-represented, along with the 15-24s and the 65+ who were under-represented. Social class data was not collected. There was a wide geographical
spread. The sample was not specifically weighted to
reflect UK gender, age, social class or geographical demographics, nor to
ensure sample balance in any one local area or region. Out of the whole sample,
97% stated English as their first language and 26% stated that they spoke at
least 1 language as well as English.
Cardiff University advised on the
design of some questions in the poll.
Findings +Analysis
Celebrity Voices:
Across the U.K Sean Connery’s Scottish, Edinburgh accent was constantly
voted the most pleasant. Newsreaders; Moira Stewart and Trevor Mcdonald were
also very popular, with Trevor Mcdonald’s voice ranked 2nd in which was
described to be ‘appealing’ and ‘authoritative’.
The respondents had a preference to accents that was relatively local to
them, such as the Scotts say they loved Ewan McGregor's
Perthshire accent, the English to Hugh Grant, Welsh to Richard Burton and the Northern
Irish to Terry Wogan. On the other hand, those in Northern Ireland are the only
group who found Ian Paisley’s voice acceptable. But, other areas in the U.K
voted his as ‘least pleasant’. In Northern Ireland, Janet Street-Porter's
Estuary tongue was declared least attractive, and she fared little better among
Scottish and Welsh respondents.
What do you think of your voice?
59% wished they occasionally had a different
accent. People suggested that it would be more pleasant to have another accent,
claiming it would help others understand them better. The most wished for
accent was the Standard English accent, however 7% say they would rather have a
Southern Irish accent. Across U.K, people voted ‘an accent identical to your
own’ as one of their favourite. 95% of the Northern Irish, 79% of the Welsh and
87% of the Scots say they have at least a moderately strong accent. However,
63% of the east and 64% of the south of England find their accent moderately strong.
Generally, more people in the north-west of the U.K say they have an accent,
than those in the south-east.
Attitudes towards accents
¾ of people in the U.K say they hear a lot of different accents in
everyday life. In that, 78% enjoy hearing a variety of accents. Scottish,
Edinburgh accent was thought to be pleasant and prestige. Whereas, accents such as Asian, Liverpool and Birmingham were
deemed to be unpleasant and lacking in social status. There were 2 exceptions
to the pattern; London accent is beneficial when applying for jobs, but people
did not like to listen to it. However, Newcastle accent, people like listening
to but was not a benefit when job hunting.
Conclusion
+ Evaluation
The study covers wide range of ideas and attitudes people have towards
accents, and what accent is deemed to be the most popular and least popular. It
suggests that Scottish and Standard English accents are valued most highly, in
that it is pleasant and most beneficial when applying for jobs. In addition,
people’s opinions on accents vary as it depends where an individual is living.
The study is thought to be reliable since it is held by one of the most
leading organisations in the UK; BBC. In addition, it covered wide areas in the
U.K with respondents being reasonably fair with the gender and possibly the age
range. It would have been better if they picked more out of the 15-24s and the 65+. For example, the younger/teenage age (15-24) may
have had a different opinion towards accents since that is the age where they don’t
have a lot of experience in the world of work, and therefore they wouldn't know
for sure that SE accent is the ‘best’ when job seeking, and are the age where
they are most influenced by the media, etc.
