Living in Bristol means that I have accommodated a Bristolian accent, which is perfectly normal, however whether I like the accent or not is something different... My mum tells me that my Bristolian accent isn't particularly strong and I am probably the least Bristolian out of my family, however I still feel a negative attitude towards my accent. I especially get conscious of my accent when I dismissively pronounce words without pronouncing all of the letters, for example 'butter' and 'water'. The glottal stop that I have adapted into my language makes me cringe and when I realise that I have said it out loud, I then correct myself and say the word properly. The idea that I want to pronounce my words "properly" is the standardization of the English Language, giving the idea that there is a right way to speak and pronounce words correctly, meaning that people who have different accents, pronouncing words differently are speaking "lazy" or "non- standard". This can lead to judgement, and prejudice as speakers of the English language in a harsher tone or a "lazier" accent can lead to assumptions. For example, the Essex or East London accent has a stereotype that their accent makes them seem dumb or illiterate. This could however be influenced from reality TV programme, The Only Way is Essex, or soap, Eastenders, however it has created a label to people who speak "common", such as Essex or East London.
The Mirror article, What is the UK's UGLIEST Accent? looks at how accents have now deemed to be attractive or unattractive, making speakers of these accents more aware and conscious that there are pressures to speak in a certain way; the attractive accents being the ones that are pronounced "properly" or more formally than common.
"Sorry, Brummies. The rest of the UK don't like you"
The Mirror have so- say found out that the majority of the UK find the Brummie accent unattractive
Another article, alternatively about the snobbery of accents and how there can be a negative view on having a POSH accent!
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