Changing the Accent: A Ticket Out of Discrimination?改个口音就能摆脱歧视？

Accentism—discriminating against someone because of their accent—has a long history in the UK， where the way someone speaks is often an easy way to tell their social class. People with working-class accents are frequently criticized and encouraged to speak “properly.” This is true even for people who have achieved fame or success in the media or politics.

口音歧视，也就是因某人说话有口音而对其加以歧视的现象，在英国可谓由来已久。在英国，一个人的社会地位如何，往往只消听一听他说话的方式便一清二楚。有工人阶级口音的人时常遭到批评，也时常受人督促说话要“得体”。即便是媒体上或是政界中功成名就的人，也概莫能外。

But changing the way one speaks isn’t necessarily a fix. When people with working-class accents begin to speak in a more “posh” way， it is often seen as inauthentic and insincere. The latest example is Victoria Beckham， whose accent in a video has been subject to criticism.

但改变说话方式未必就能解决问题。有工人阶级口音的人，一旦变得“谈吐优雅”，往往又会被人认为装腔作势、虚情假意。最近的例子就是维多利亚·贝克汉姆，她在一个视频中的口音就受到批评。

Victoria Beckham was born in Essex and raised in Hertfordshire， and her husband David Beckham was raised in east London. Despite the couple’s enormous wealth and success， they come from working-class backgrounds and continue to be seen as such. They have previously been labelled “chavs”， a contemptuous， stereotyped moniker of the working class.

维多利亚·贝克汉姆在埃塞克斯郡出生，在赫特福德郡长大，而她的丈夫大卫·贝克汉姆则在伦敦东部长大。尽管夫妻二人财力雄厚，成就卓著，但他们来自工人阶级家庭，而且人们始终认定他们工人阶级的出身。以前人们给他们贴上了“低俗青年”的标签，这是一种轻蔑工人阶级、带有刻板印象的称呼。

Their accents have typically included working-class， vernacular linguistic traits from London or southern England more broadly. In 2014， David Beckham was voted one of the British public’s least pleasant voices. In 2010， Victoria Beckham was slated for both her appearance and her accent when she was a guest judge on “American Idol.”

贝克汉姆夫妇的口音表现出了典型的工人阶级和地方土语特征，这些语言特征源自伦敦，或者宽泛地说，源自英格兰南部。2014年，大卫·贝克汉姆当选英国口音最不好听的公众人物之一。早在2010年，维多利亚·贝克汉姆担任《美国偶像》客座评委时，她的装扮和口音就为人苛责。

U.S. paper， The Village Voice， wrote， “I always thought a British accent made people sound smart but I guess I was wrong.” Her fellow British judge， privately educated Simon Cowell， was not criticized for his very standard， southern English accent.

美国报纸《乡村之声》如是说：“我先前总以为英国口音让人听起来很聪明，看来我错了。”和维多利亚一同担任评委的英国人西蒙·考埃尔因为接受过私立教育，说着一口标准的英国南方口音，从没有人对他说三道四。

A makeup tutorial video posted by Victoria Beckham revived longstanding speculation that the Beckhams are changing their accents and even having elocution lessons.

维多利亚·贝克汉姆发布的一个美妆教学视频重新唤起了人们长久以来的猜测——贝克汉姆夫妇可能在改变口音，甚至还特意上了演讲课。

Changing accents

改变口音

We all have different accents. We can speak in different ways depending on factors like who we are talking to， our emotional state， the formality of the situation and the topic of conversation. But our accents can also change throughout our life， depending on the ways of speaking we are exposed to， depending on where we live and who we talk to （footballer Joey Barton1 was a remarkable example）.

我们每个人都有多种口音。我们可以用不同的方式说话，而影响因素多种多样，比方说：我们和谁交谈，我们的情绪如何，说话的场合正式与否，还有谈论的话题是什么。然而，从小到大，我们的口音也一直在变。我们接触到的人都有什么口音，我们住在哪里，经常跟什么样的人说话，都影响我们的口音（足球运动员乔伊·巴顿就是个绝佳的例子）。

Even Queen Elizabeth II experienced accent change throughout her life， which matched the subtle changes happening in standard southern English. Research has also found that Glaswegians2 who are fans of the soap opera “EastEnders” are more likely to speak with elements of a cockney accent.

就连女王伊丽莎白二世一生中也经历过口音的变化，正好匹配标准南方口音发展中的细微变化。另有研究发现，喜欢看肥皂剧《东区人》的格拉斯哥人，说话更可能带有伦敦东区的口音特征。

A person with a working-class accent may also consciously adapt their accent if they feel it holds them back or they are perceived as unintelligent （which probably is the case）. Changing your accent is no easy feat， and the burden is greater for those whose accent is further from the standard.

如果一个人认为自己的工人阶级口音会阻碍自己的发展，或是让自己听上去不够聪明（事实很可能如此），那他也可能会有意识地改变自己的口音。然而，改变口音绝非易事。对于自身口音与标准发音差异很大的人来说，改变口音的难度更大。

There are also examples of people with standard accents suddenly and uncharacteristically speaking with less standard and more working-class accents， such as politician Ed Miliband when talking to comedian Russell Brand. Miliband was seen as hospitably finding an “accent on common ground” in a generous act of extending familiarity.

不过，也不乏反例。有些人本来发音标准，突然之间一反常态地用不太标准、偏向工人阶级的口音说话。政治家埃德·米利班德就在此列，他与喜剧演员拉塞尔·布兰德说话时就带上了口音。在人们看来，米利班德此举属于体贴地为双方找到了“共同的口音基础”，不啻为一种拉近关系的大度之举。

But when a person is thought to have begun speaking more “posh”， like Victoria Beckham （and also Meghan Markle3）， they can be unfairly ridiculed as fake or pretentious. Victoria Beckham perfectly exemplifies how working-class people are criticized for speaking， no matter how posh their accent is. It is being working-class that is the problem.

然而，一旦人们认为某人变得“谈吐优雅”，就像维多利亚·贝克汉姆（还有梅根·马克尔）这样，那此人可能就要被人们有失公允地讥讽为装模做样、拿腔拿调。维多利亚·贝克汉姆的例子充分说明了工人阶级如何因为说话这件事而受人指责，不管他们可以把话说得多优雅。真正的问题在于他们是工人阶级。

Working-class accentism

歧视工人阶级口音

My own Essex accent is often brought up when sharing my expertise in linguistics. On a BBC radio interview， the presenter read aloud a listeners’ text： “Try getting someone who can speak correctly if you’re going to talk about grammar.” My experience is not unusual for academics with working-class accents.