People with a common history – often due to significant geographic or social barriers – often share genetics and language. New research finds that even a dialect can act as a barrier within a group.
Many people fear the disappearance of the unique way some communities speak. But accent loss is a complicated notion and embracing both language variation and change can be an important social goal.
Fear of strangers extends beyond racism and discrimination against people who look like they might come from another place – it includes people who sound different, too.
Examining current attitudes to accents in Britain, do the same biases hold true as they did 50 years ago and what does that mean when it comes to the interview process?