One of many extra sudden plot twists on the most recent collection of the BBC’s The Traitors was contestant Charlotte revealing that regardless of being from London, she was placing on a Welsh accent to look extra reliable to her fellow contestants.
Leaving apart the truth that, if she will get discovered, faking her origins will hardly encourage confidence amongst her friends, has Charlotte stumbled upon an inexpensive technique? Are Welsh accents genuinely perceived as reliable?
Earlier than moving into the main points of how folks view Welsh accents, it’s necessary to underline that our attitudes to accents on the whole – whether or not constructive or detrimental, widespread or private – are merely perceptions. No accent is intrinsically smarter, friendlier, or extra reliable than every other. No accent is inherently dishonest or unintelligent both. Once we decide somebody by their accent, we’re participating in a type of stereotyping.
As a sociolinguist, I’ve been researching the accents and dialects of English spoken in Wales for greater than a decade. In a single examine, I examined a number of thousand tweets that includes the phrases “Welsh” and “accent” to discover what folks had been saying in regards to the Welsh accent and their attitudes in direction of it.
I discovered that most individuals tweeting considered the Welsh accent very favourably, typically commenting on its friendliness and attractiveness. Just a few mentioned something detrimental about it. Whereas not one of the tweets explicitly talked about trustworthiness, analysis on language attitudes ceaselessly finds that traits like friendliness, honesty and kindness are strongly linked.
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BBC
In that respect, Charlotte’s technique may very well be one. However Welsh accents will not be distinctive in having these constructive associations. Surveys and research persistently discover that Yorkshire (or broadly northern English) accents, Scottish accents and Irish accents additionally rating extremely for attractiveness and trustworthiness.
In distinction, acquired pronunciation, often known as the “King’s English” and generally known as “posh English”, scores extremely for intelligence, training and wealth, however tends to be considered as much less pleasant. Accents linked to industrial and working-class cities typically rank decrease for constructive traits.
However this notion is shifting as extra regional accents achieve prominence in movies, tv and different media. For instance, Peaky Blinders has notably improved perceptions of the Birmingham accent.
With the varied London accents, reminiscent of cockney, multicultural London English and estuary English, attitudes to every of them differ.
Returning to Wales, my outcomes additionally confirmed that though there are numerous distinct Welsh accents (to not point out the range inside the Welsh language itself), most individuals outdoors of Wales are primarily aware of accents from the south Wales valleys or Barry. Different Welsh accents are much less extensively recognised.
Gavin and Stacey
That is partly as a consequence of media illustration. You possibly can’t talk about Welsh accents within the UK with out mentioning the BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey. In some ways, the show, which aired from 2007 to 2010 (with Christmas specials in 2019 and 2024), solidified the concept of what sure Welsh accents sound like for folks outdoors of Wales.
Lots of the tweets I studied referenced the show instantly, with phrases like “What’s occurring?” (typically uttered by the character Nessa in a Barry accent) ceaselessly showing.
Learn extra:
Gavin and Stacey’s ultimate episode: why it’s so arduous for followers to say goodbye
The affiliation of Welsh accents with constructive traits extends past tv and social media, as linguistic attitudes can have financial results as properly. A number of corporations, together with Starling Financial institution and Veezu, the transport reserving app, have primarily based their name centres in Wales to faucet into the pleasant associations with the accent.
Collectively this proof confirms that perceptions of the Welsh accent are broadly constructive within the UK and that individuals are more likely to affiliate the accent with friendliness and trustworthiness.
Assortment Christophel/Alamy
Does this imply Charlotte’s technique in The Traitors is a successful one? Sure and no. Whereas the constructive connotations of getting a Welsh accent would possibly give her a bonus, it’s not her pure accent. And a few followers of the programme have accused Charlotte of “appropriation”.
In a sport the place contestants are consistently looking out for indicators of deceit, sustaining a faux accent is a dangerous transfer. Our language is deeply tied to our identification and emotional state. In moments of stress or excessive stakes, it’s difficult to take care of an unnatural manner of talking. If Charlotte slips again into her native London accent below strain, it might elevate suspicions and in the end undermine her technique.
