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Very light and readable introduction to the phenomenon of accentism, a form of discrimination and stereotyping based on dialect, accent, or how a person uses language in general.

The subject is fascinating and as far as I know, there are not (m)any public-facing books dealing with it. In addition to writing this book, the author has also started a website, that aims to raise awareness of the phenomenon: accentism.org/.

The focus is relatively narrow, discussing accentism mostly from a British perspective, using examples from British pop culture, that people from other countries may find hard to relate to.

Many interesting points are made about language hegemony and perceived "standard forms" of language use and pronunciation. According to Drummond, deviations from the perceived standard should not be seen as a problem that the speaker must correct by changing his or her accent. Instead, the author suggests that listeners should be more accepting of this form of linguistic diversity.

This makes sense to me when it comes to the inclusion of regional variants, sociolects, or foreign accents. But what if the listener's first language (L1) is not English? English is usually taught in a standardized form and regional variants or accents will be an additional burden for those speakers, who have acquired English as a foreign language (L2). This in turn can promote hierarchy and dominance in favor of L1 speakers, especially when L2 speakers have to interact (or compete) with them in, say, a professional context. Therefore it seems to me, that deviations from a perceived linguistic standard should not be universally seen as a listener's problem.

The book is certainly aimed at an interested audience, without much prior knowledge of sociolinguistics. However, if you are not completely new to the field, the content might seem a bit thin in the 250 or so pages.

Very light and readable introduction to the phenomenon of accentism, a form of discrimination and stereotyping based on dialect, accent, or how a person uses language in general.

The subject is fascinating and as far as I know, there are not (m)any public-facing books dealing with it. In addition to writing this book, the author has also started a website, that aims to raise awareness of the phenomenon: accentism.org/.

The focus is relatively narrow, discussing accentism mostly from a British perspective, using examples from British pop culture, that people from other countries may find hard to relate to.

Many interesting points are made about language hegemony and perceived "standard forms" of language use and pronunciation. According to Drummond, deviations from the perceived standard should not be seen as a problem that the speaker must correct by changing his or her accent. Instead, the author suggests that listeners should be more accepting of this form of linguistic diversity.

This makes sense to me when it comes to the inclusion of regional variants, sociolects, or foreign accents. But what if the listener's first language (L1) is not English? English is usually taught in a standardized form and regional variants or accents will be an additional burden for those speakers, who have acquired English as a foreign language (L2). This in turn can promote hierarchy and dominance in favor of L1 speakers, especially when L2 speakers have to interact (or compete) with them in, say, a professional context. Therefore it seems to me, that deviations from a perceived linguistic standard should not be universally seen as a listener's problem.

The book is certainly aimed at an interested audience, without much prior knowledge of sociolinguistics. However, if you are not completely new to the field, the content might seem a bit thin in the 250 or so pages.