Right accent helps

Press, 6 September 1980, Page 9

Right accent helps

NZPA London To get ahead in Britain, get a 8.8. C. newsreader accent, a British psychologist has said.

Dr Howard Giles of Bristol Universitycsaid his studies showed ■ that neople were much more impressed by the 8.8. C. voice than any other accent.

They were considered more intelligent, competent, educated, ambitious, and industrious and the possessors were thought to be taller and even more handsome

i than thve with regional accents. - - I , Hundreds of oeop e in Dr ■ Giies’a, study, were asked : their reaction to identical Statenttiris, record;? - ’ by the • same person in different ac- ■ cents. Those with regional accents were thought to be ■ more snipid and lazier. Dr Giles said it appeared that tin right accent, was a social asset. In almost every: /case the non-standard accent’ I brought lower ratings from! [listeners. [ I He said there was even a(

■ heira/chy table rating among national accents in Britain. - Scottish, Welsh, and Irish I accents were viewed more I favourably than regional • shire accents which, in turn, ■ had more prestige . than industrial town accents. “These studies provide i concrete evidence that the ‘wrong’ accent may be an impediment to social interi action and advancement and [entry to certain professions,” Dr Giles told a meetj ing of the British Association for the Advancement [of Science.