67 ms·

> connect strong accents with stupidity That's too generalized. To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. This has been studied, no

> connect strong accents with stupidity That's too generalized. To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. This has been studied, not just my opinion, though I can't immediately find a citation. Also, to me, certain foreign accents sound very charming. Arnold's voice sounds authoritative, but it's probably more to do with the deep pitch than the accent.

rtpg 10y ago
You're right. Thinking about this more, I think perhaps there's an association between verbal communication difficulty and intelligence. I've personally experienced situations where people seem to think I cannot understand some simple concept when I am not a native speaker. Just an an anecdote, though
- CaptSpify 10y ago
  I've caught myself on the giving end of that. I'd think "Oh, they don't speak clear English, therefore they can't be smart." But that is obviously completely wrong. I don't know why my brain goes that direction, or what I can do to stop it.
  - learc83 10y ago
    It happens to everyone, and the best you can do is to try to be aware of it. It happened to me often when interacting with Chinese CS professors during college. I'd constantly have to remind myself that they were much more knowledgeable than I was despite having subpar communication skills.
maxerickson 10y ago
To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. Not all British accents carry that stereotype.
- 91bananas 10y ago
  And not all Americans hold that same stereotype in their minds.
eli_gottlieb 10y ago
>To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. Oi boyz, we gotz errselves a posh git roight 'ere.
vacri 10y ago
> To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. Which British accent? It's unlikely that you associate prestige and sophistication with scouse, cockney, geordie, scots, west country, so on and so forth. These are generally played up as being working class or not smart in movies and other media.
mercer 10y ago
> That's too generalized. To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. 'Respectable businessman' Badger from the Firefly universe probably wishes that were true for all 'British' accents!

rtpg 10y ago

You're right. Thinking about this more, I think perhaps there's an association between verbal communication difficulty and intelligence. I've personally experienced situations where people seem to think I cannot understand some simple concept when I am not a native speaker. Just an an anecdote, though

CaptSpify 10y ago
I've caught myself on the giving end of that. I'd think "Oh, they don't speak clear English, therefore they can't be smart." But that is obviously completely wrong. I don't know why my brain goes that direction, or what I can do to stop it.
- learc83 10y ago
  It happens to everyone, and the best you can do is to try to be aware of it. It happened to me often when interacting with Chinese CS professors during college. I'd constantly have to remind myself that they were much more knowledgeable than I was despite having subpar communication skills.

maxerickson 10y ago

To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. Not all British accents carry that stereotype.

91bananas 10y ago
And not all Americans hold that same stereotype in their minds.

eli_gottlieb 10y ago

>To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. Oi boyz, we gotz errselves a posh git roight 'ere.

vacri 10y ago

> To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. Which British accent? It's unlikely that you associate prestige and sophistication with scouse, cockney, geordie, scots, west country, so on and so forth. These are generally played up as being working class or not smart in movies and other media.

mercer 10y ago

> That's too generalized. To an American, a British accent conveys prestige and sophistication. 'Respectable businessman' Badger from the Firefly universe probably wishes that were true for all 'British' accents!