Research looks to uncover if the Essex accent holds us back

The forgotten Ts, chatterbox speed and lengthened vowels have become somewhat of an identify here “dan saaf”.

But does it hold us proud Essex folk back in their ambitions?

This is the question researchers at the University of Essex have been trying to answer as they launch the latest study in their ongoing research into what makes our accent so, well, Essex-y.

Its much loved – and loathed – nature has drawn its fair share of critics, and the results from the first round of research arrive in the form of bad news.

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Despite our many intellectual credentials, professors found the Essex accent makes people appear less intelligent to others... and this can lead to prejudice.

The researchers found working-class people were judged to be less intelligent, friendly and trustworthy than middle-class people – something which was also highlighted by people speaking in an Essex or south London accent.

A total of 194 young people from south east England were played ten second clips of other young people from the region reading aloud the same sentence.

Those listening to the clips didn’t know anything about the backgrounds of the people they were listening to.

For each person they heard, the participants were asked to make judgements about how friendly, intelligent and trustworthy they thought the person sounded.

Dr Amanda Cole, who organised the research and hails from Loughton in south Essex, also found working class people deemed the working-class accent to be less intelligent.

Dr Amanda Cole

Dr Cole said: “We are all diverse and we need diversity in accents. No-one should feel they have to forsake their accent to get along better in life.

“In England we all feel deep in our gut there is a correct way of speaking English because of standard language ideologies which have been centuries in the making.

“It is no coincidence the accent which we think of as being neutral and correct is that which is most often spoken by the social and political elite.

“We live in a vicious cycle in which the most privileged speak with the most esteemed accent and so are judged as the most competent and intelligent which helps them maintain their privilege.

“This way of thinking is so pervasive that it goes completely unchallenged.”

Dr Cole says her research findings are part of the first step towards challenging the concept that there is a correct way of speaking.

But, despite it being something perhaps us Essex folk just don’t hear anymore, the latest set of university research is looking to untangle the web even further.

Researchers are now trying to uncover whether judgements about different regional accents develop in childhood and you can even put your child forward to take part in the investigation.

The research team from the University of Essex’s Department of Languages and Linguistics is looking for children aged five whose first and main language is English.

The child and their parent are invited to go to the Colchester campus to help understand how five-year-old children feel about different accents.

During the study, the children will play a game on the computer, while information from brain waves is measured.

Dr Ella Jeffries, who is leading the research, said: “People are often judged based on the way they speak.

Dr Ella Jeffries

“In particular, having an Essex accent can encourage certain stereotypes about a speaker and this can lead to negative consequences based on accent discrimination.”

The good people of the county – and The Only Way is Essex – await the results but one thing is for sure, we’re proud to be from Essex.

You can sign up for the study by contacting accentthepositive@essex.ac.uk.