Why We Need to Stop Accent Shaming and Discrimination

Accent bias, a term coined for this type of prejudice, targets those who speak a language with a foreign accent. It has become increasingly common as people move around the world in search of opportunity. 

Sadly, it is something we’re all prone to doing. Studies have shown that it takes as little as 30 milliseconds of speech for us to instantly form judgements about the speaker’s character, wealth, social status, intelligence, and education.

Whatever side of the accent shaming fence you find yourself on, you’ll benefit from this week's post where I describe various aspects of accents, including how we develop one and why we should stop using it as a reason to discriminate.