Since 1922, RP (received pronunciation), also called the BBC accent, has been described as "the standard accent of England". The upper classes throughout the country would all mimic each others accent as it was seen as a status symbol for those with power, money and influence. However, more recently it has been described as "a symbol of undeserved privilege".
When a group defines a standard pronunciation, speakers who deviate from it are thought to "speak with an accent". Because of its history in the British media, the RP accent was used to represent Britain. However, since the 1960's, the British media began to utilize the regional accents of the country.
In more recent times it has become clear that within the media there lies many stereotypes created due to the division of regions and their accent. It is fair to say that with broad regional accents, come stereotypes from that region.
It has always been thought that the RP accent was the only un-geographically set accent, and that all other regional accents have been used purely to identify the geographical location of the speaker. However, within recent media, the regional accent can also be used to identify social classes, educational achievement and the typical line of work, or at least, it can stereotypically. Saying this, even within Shakspearean times, the fool was heard to be speaking in a regional accent, as it was then seen that anyone speaking outside of the 'standard english' accent, was different, and in this case, the fool.
It is also possible to identify some personal characteristics purely through the sound of their voice. The BBC accent became associated purely with southern England, and each region became known for their individual local dialects.
The following is a collection of different examples from today's television displaying the use of accent to create a character stereotype.
Shameless.
The
award winning British comedy-drama series is set in Manchester, on the
fictional Chatsworth council estate. Within the program we follow the
'Gallagher' family.
Frank;
the lead character and father of the family is depicted as an unemployed,
violent alcoholic who is drastically under-groomed and poorly dressed. He
steals, does drugs and has very little input into the upbringing of his
children.
An
online source says "From a southerner's point of view, Manchester, these
days, is a party city fueled by drink, drugs and an obsessive love of
football." These characteristics are exaggerated throughout the show,
and used to identify the characters as typical 'Mancs'.
It could be argued
that Frank's character, along with his tracksuit wearing children, is a
stereotypical view of a typical Manchester family. The use of this family highlights
the 'underclasses' in Manchester, and the consistent drink and drug
abuse could potentially draw attention to the growing use within real life.
Shameless has been
criticised for creating unrepresentative stereotypes, although some sources
claim that the " Manchester stereotypes came [before the show] and
[Shameless] simply does not deny the stereotypes, but supports and builds on
them."
----
Gavin and Stacey.
This British comedy television
sitcom follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin, from Billericay in
Essex, and Stacey, from Barry in The Vale of Glamorgan, in Wales.Within this television series we are introduced to a few character stereotypes which are a little less common than those of Manchester.
The show is littered with 'i loves' in place of 'love', and 'i knows' in place of 'i know'. This is a trait of the Welsh dialect. The show also uses colloquial phrases such as 'crackin', 'tidy' and 'fair play'. These create a more realistic representation of Wales as they are specifically Welsh terms.
The character of Uncle Bryn is often shown as 'behind the times' as he struggles to come to grips with todays modern technology. As well as Stacey's fashion sense being described as 'out of date', it has been argued that "the Welsh are just one step behind England, with everything!"
The stereotyping used within this series creates a humorous depiction of the Welsh characters. This is the most common reason for living up the stereotypes, other than the fact they make the character easy to identify, and as each stereotype comes with it's own set of characteristic, these are easy to put into a character.
---
Regional accents are used all over the media as it is easy
to portray a character using stereotypes than it is to defy them and have to
create a whole new persona for the region.
More famous stereotypical characters include Eastenders
own, Phil Mitchell (image right). He spoke with a typically gruff cockney
accent, which created this "hard man" persona. Along with
his physical appearance he
was stereotypical a violent, gang-leader type.
It is a fair assumption to say that stereotyping
characteristics of separate regions allows for writers to create
characters that will be easily recognized by an
audience. Characteristics of each region
are exaggerated either for humorous purposes or for
dramatic effect.
