Can your accent hold you back? 

For many people, their accent is something they are immensely proud of; it is a testament as to who they are and where they are from. 

However, a recent survey in Britain found that there was still quite a lot of prejudice out there - particularly against people from the north of England. 

The survey’s results come as no surprise to CEO of Social Talent Johnny Campbell. 

“Most of the time when they matter, they matter for the wrong reasons,” he told Newstalk reporter Henry McKean. 

“In bias training and interview training, you try to make sure you’re focused on what you actually need to assess for and too often you find that accent can come up as something that people will discriminate against without having thought, ‘Does it matter to the job?’” 

Ireland is seemingly not immune from accent snobbery and Linda from Longford told Newstalk that she often feels judged for hers. 

“It’s very neutral,” she said of her accent. 

“I guess Longford is kind of neutral but it’s kind of flat - nothing really defines it. 

“I try and hide my accent; I don’t like when it comes out [strongly]. 

“I don’t know [why], I have a weird relationship with it.

“Not that I’m ashamed about where I come from - I’m not - it’s just you do get people judging you.” 

ATC04Y Teenage girl shouting, hands raised to mouth, looking at camera

At Heuston Station, a train has pulled in and the Dublin air is suddenly thick with the Cork accents. 

“It has never worked against me personally because I’ve never worked outside of Cork,” one woman said. 

“But I can imagine, if you did work in Dublin or elsewhere in the country it might do and especially depending on where in Cork you’re from; if you have a northern city accent, it might work against you.” 

Another woman was open that she had changed her accent over the years.  

“I was born in London and I moved to County Cork when I was eight or nine,” she said. 

“So, I would have had a bit of a cockney accent and I was probably like a bit of an alien coming into my little village where I was living. 

“And I now have a Cork accent, I suppose - but when I’m in Cork, they don’t think I have a Cork accent. 

“But when I’m here [in Dublin], I have a Cork accent.” 

Another passenger was even more upfront that she had changed the way she spoke over the years 

“I neutralised my Cork accent because coming from West Cork I sounded like a culchie,” she said. 

“All my group of friends would have neutralised our accents when watching TV and stuff because you didn’t want to sound like a farmer when you’re going up to Cork.”

Main image: Accent reduction sign at roadside in California, United States of America. Picture by: Alamy.com