Posh Spice sounds posher, but changing a working-class accent isn’t a ticket out of discrimination

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." When people with working-class accents begin to speak in a more "posh" way, it is often seen as inauthentic and insincere. U.S, paper the Village Voice, wrote, "I always thought a British accent made people sound smart but I guess I was wrong." The commonplace notion that accent pedantry is actually just upholding good diction, decent standards, clear articulation or the inherent "correctness" of English is a rickety scaffolding for accent prejudice that keeps working-class people in their place.