reading 2

Reading Guide for Everyone has an accent except me

Esling, J. 1999. Everyone has an accent except me. Language Myths. L. Bauer & P. Trudgill (eds).

1. Esling lists many judgements that people make based on someone’s accent. What are three of these judgements?

2. True or false? Everyone has an accent.

3. What is a ‘standard’ accent?

4. What three things which contribute to how our perceptions and production of speech change over time?

5. Why do people tend to think that they don’t have an accent?

6. According to Esling, how do we place speakers with a dialect or language group?

7. Esling lists consonants and vowels, intonation or melody, and voice quality as ways that accents vary and gives examples. Pick an example of variation between accents for each of these and write them here.