Speaking with an accent leads to discrimination: study

Others pretend not to understand them even when their vocabulary is impeccable. They’re cast as cartoon villains, spoken to as though they’re five years old or perpetually asked where they’re really from.

In an age when it’s socially unacceptable to pass judgment based on culture or skin colour, discrimination is widespread against people who speak English or other vernacular languages with a foreign accent, new research suggests.

"In general, accents that are from Asian countries and accents that are from Central America and South America in the U.S. are perceived more negatively, and Canada as well," says Agata Gluszek, a PhD candidate at Yale University. "It’s not to say there isn’t discrimination against ethnicity and race, it’s just not acceptable socially (like accent discrimination)."

Accents from other English-speaking countries such as England or Australia are seen as prestigious and signify a person’s first language is still English, she says, and Western European accents are also generally looked on favourably. But speech tinged with other parts of the world is heavily stigmatized, she says.

Gluszek’s research, published in the May issue of the Personality and Social Psychology Review, draws together dozens of studies on perception of accented speech, painting a picture of rampant bias.

Even if someone speaks the dominant language fluently with a foreign accent, people believe they have a shaky mastery of the language, she found, and those with accents are generally thought of as less intelligent, less educated and not as pleasant to listen to.

"People who speak with non-native accents are discriminated against in employment and schooling and education, in salary and housing," she says.

In one survey of European Union countries, 34 per cent of respondents agreed that a job candidate’s "way of speaking, his or her accent" could put them at a disadvantage compared to an equally qualified person without an accent. That rose to 45 per cent among managers actually doing the hiring.

Children’s movies often use foreign accents to portray nasty characters, and studies of cartoons have found that "stereotypically negative accents" such as German, Russian and those of Eastern European countries are often used to identify villains. Other research has shown that children prefer to be friends with others who speak with a native accent, and a foreign accent is a bigger negative cue for them than race.

Some studies have suggested the problem is with the listener and not the speaker, with people often rating their "subjective comprehension" of accented speech as much lower than their actual understanding. In one study, participants listened to a lecture and were shown a picture of either an Asian or Caucasian instructor. Those who had seen the Asian instructor believed they heard accented speech and performed worse on a lecture comprehension test afterward.

"I think it has to do with the fact that language is such an important part of communication, and standard language and speaking in a standard way with a standard accent is one way one can justify the discrimination, because it’s seen as under someone’s control," Gluszek says.

Even well-meaning native speakers are often guilty of "foreigner talk," switching to a "simplified, often ridiculous" way of speaking to non-native speakers because they assume they can’t understand normal speech, she says.

"If I’m a native speaker and I hear someone speak with an accent, I may think this person is not really fluent, so I will try to speak really slowly and use simple words and perhaps make interesting gestures because I think I’m actually helping the person to understand me," she says. "If the person is not fluent in the language that may help."

But as someone who speaks fluent English with an accent herself, Gluszek notes, laughing, that foreigner talk is also "insulting." She compares it to the way people often revert to condescending baby-talk with the elderly.

Gluszek, whose first language is Polish, says her research was inspired by her own experience. After immigrating to the U.S. 11 years ago, she got accustomed to being asked "15 times a day" where she was from, the moment she opened her mouth and people heard her accented English.

"Having a lot of speakers with non-native accents make it a lot easier. Listeners become more familiar, expect it (and) do not get so anxious about speaking with someone with an accent," she says. "I’m hopeful that with more multiculturalism, it will become less of an issue, but in order for it to become less of an issue, we need to acknowledge that it is an issue right now."