my accent, uni and classism

[@EmmaLouiseVlogs]

I relate to this video so hard! As someone from Newcastle, I have a Geordie accent and throughout my time studying at Cambridge I definitely tried to "tidy" my accent up and tried to sound more "posh", so I didn't stand out or appear "stupid" to anyone (which is so silly). I actually did it subconsciously and I'm sad that I still do this because I love my accent and I'm so proud to be Northern

[@shanus101]

I was brought up in Shrewsbury, Shropshire the outer edges of the midlands. I've always hated my accent as I feel or get the impression that others perceive you (me) as unintelligent, a farmer or common. It really hampers your confidence being aware of these things when speaking in public, a job interview or making new friends. I've really tried to change how I pronounce my words but end up reverting back, I suppose this is natural! I live in Cheshire now and for the most part I see people struggling to understand me, some say they can't, saying my words sound funny or my choice of words are odd.

[@alicedoesphysics]

so I may be biased (I'm also from the west midlands, just a bit south of you!) but I've genuinely always thought you had a lovely voice 😊 really interesting video! never thought about the "industrial areas" thing

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Aah Warwickshire is it? I love it there ☺️ and thank you so much 😄🤍 it’s definitely interesting to think about, I think especially the question of whether some sounds are inherently nice and why 😃

[@jiangzemimemsangma1689]

Teach me

[@astrorookie]

this is a fantastic video! i've got a southern accent (barth, parth, darrnnce etc etc ) and going to Nottingham Uni meant my mates teased me for asking for a 'glass of raspberry lemonade' in pizza express once lol. I'm so sorry people call your accent ugly, because honestly you have a really pretty and calming voice which I think your accent compliments greatly. Codeswitching is so interesting, but it's sad that you subconsciously feel like you *have* to change your accent to avoid ridicule. You shouldn't have to

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Thank you so much for your kind words ☺️ and oh nooo 😭😂 maybe by the time you finish uni you’ll say things with a short a 🤭 Yeah, the brummie/Black Country accent is always number 1 on ‘worst accent’ lists lol, although I think thanks to peaky blinders that’s slowly changing :-))

[@twinkle2679]

Hello from the U.S., Savannah! What an intriguing video, and a really interesting topic no matter what country you are from, or what language you speak. My mother was from Ireland, moved to the London area in the 1940s when she was ten years old. She was teased about adopting a very posh English accent. My father was raised in Watford, I don't know if they have their own accent or not. They came to the states after WW2, to American ears, they were very posh indeed! I watched a great interview with Michael Caine where he discussed the greater acceptance of working class accents due to the The Beatles, and his own rise to fame in the 1960s. I had a funny experience a few years ago when I went with a friend to see The Full Monty. Throughout the film I had to "interpret" what was being said due to the accents and the colloquialisms.

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Hi! Thank you for your comment- that’s really interesting to hear ☺️ that’s interesting about Michael Caine, in a way he’s become more iconic because of his accent! At least you could understand the full monty though haha 😃

[@mamapickle8876]

So interesting! I'm 14 and living in Australia right now but I've lived in the Netherlands and the UK as well. I've attended international schools all my life, and I'm born to Barbadian-Australian and Scottish-NewZealand parents, who've both grown up in London. I have a very strange accent, in which I have a hard R (like Americans), my O sounds like "ourgh" (Australian), and I have a hard T (I pronounce my Ts very forcefully). My accent is a jumble of all the cultures I've been exposed to, and I love learning about other people's accents, particularly in the UK, because, unlike my Aussie friends' perception of the UK, we don't all sound like The Queen! Thanks for the great video!

[@jeffreyrainey1015]

It's a fascinating topic, both of discussion and of tactics. It just goes to show that accents, particularly regional accents, go beyond rationality and are on more fundamental levels of understanding and what is acceptable to someone's ears. You hit on a question that I've been wondering, which is "What is it like to come from an area who's accent is notorious for being unfavourable to outsiders?" You should embrace what makes you, you, because you can't control where you come from; nor should you. But code switching is more of a pragmatic way of going about your business, because it's one thing you can control. Cheers from Canada.

[@mariahleon5578]

Thanks for making this video. I study in Edinburgh, I'm from East London and have a London accent and all these posh students from the home counties pretend to be from the capital too and all they do is bring up my accent. I've decided that there's no reason for me to try and assimilate, I'm proud of my working class background and anyone who has a problem is not worth your time. However, it does get very lonely, I have not met anyone yet at this university with a London (cockney) accent

[@katehehl]

I am not from the UK, but here in Canada different dialects and accents are most definitely affected by classism and region. I would say that this is a world-wide commonality. You have a lovely voice and I enjoy your videos and content very much!

[@davidlear7927]

What a lovely accent you have! I've heard that people don't like the black country accent, but I think it is really nice. A really engaging video :o)

[@murad_albarki]

Your accent is one of the most beautiful accents ever mashallah! 🤍

[@khaledomar4787]

ur videos make me happy and optimistic towards the future

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Thank you khaled ☺️

[@neurodivergentdawn]

This was so interesting! I am Scottish but use an american R (rather than a rolling r which my mum has). I find i pronounce things more proper while at university too but I don't realise it. It is only when I go home that i realise. Being from Scotland I am not familiar with many english accents. In my opinion I feel that your natural accent might be looked down on not because of the area the accent comes from but simply the way the pronunciations sound. For example if i hear an accent i dont like i don't think about where i think it is from - it is more whether i liked the way it sounds, and everyone is different so will have different opinions on accents. I love your accent - you speak really nicely.

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Thank you for your comment! That’s interesting- perhaps some sounds are less pleasing to us. I know Scotland has lots of different accents too but I haven’t heard a Scottish accent I don’t like yet! And thank you for your kind comment ☺️💕

[@neurodivergentdawn]

@@SavannahPhillipss No problem! And thank you! I don't like Scottish accents and I assume others feel the same. We maybe have a negative bias towards our own accent, maybe because we hear it so often or something? :)

[@kellywashington6153]

Iam from the black country and I dont care what people think iam proud of my accent

[@BrummieLadd]

Im from birmingham but now live in wolves have been for 13 years proud to be a brummie i love my accent and proud of my herritage not ashamed of my accent in any kind of way no one should hide their accent whats so ever great video though made some good points 👍👍

[@roses2122]

I’m from Whittlesey,which is near Peterborough.I don’t say the ‘r’ in glass,bath,etc.My family is from London,so I speak differently to ‘em. I say “ello” instead of “Hello”, and don’t say the ‘t’ like don’t or water.People don’t understand me sometimes,and say “speak probably” like say the ‘h’ or say the ‘r’ in bath.It’s like it’s my accent I can’t help it.

[@lucyasmr1328]

My dads half of the family is Black Country and I’ve got a bit of one

[@juliajones2283]

I’m also from the West Midlands - Sutton Coldfield north east of Birmingham. I don’t have a pronounced Brummie accent at all. When my son went to uni in Durham his housemates told him that they thought myself & my husband had Brummie accents but he didn’t ( he does speak well!) I think it’s interesting what other people hear in our accent/voice.

[@rhyscrofton4630]

I'm from west brom in the Midlands and I love you

[@TomGB-81]

I'm from the Black Country, been working and living in Birmingham for over 10 years now. I always love going back to see family and friends to hear people talking yamyam again it feels and makes the place feel like home, I miss living there. I've now got a weird messed up accent like a cross between Brummy and Yamyam but mainly yamyam. Slangs as well - omg I SO love finally speaking normal when I speak with family and old friends; yow alright lad, ar cor be bad mate, yam havin a laff ay ya? spakin proper now ay i.... lol

[@pas2310]

Your accent is so pretty?! What

[@maxvodka171]

Great video! I am from the southern part of the US and we are often judged negatively as well. Some of the comments are that we are slow, uneducated, among other things I will not mention. After watching this I realized that I have at times tried to tone down my accent when speaking publicly/professionally and now realize that I was doing it so that I would be seen as credible/educated. Which shows the effect that criticism has had on me.

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Aah, from what I’ve heard of the US it doesn’t seem to have the fixation on class that the UK does- although your comment perhaps shows that there are preconceptions about different US accents. I wonder what the ‘posh’/‘respectable’ US accent is supposed to be :-)

[@Cal97g]

I'm from the blackcountry too and I struggle with free vs three after leaving the blackcountry - my accent is quite weird

[@Cal97g]

Also how do you know so much about accents

[@lwebster7100]

This is fascinating because Black Country and brummy accents are viewed he same in UK and the southern accent in US. Also view as like poorly educated or lower class (stereotype) but also viewed as more approachable and friendly too…interesting

[@Lila12362]

Hey Savannah, I just want to tell you that the main reason why I watch your videos is to enjoy the you speak and your voice is so calming 😄 although I don't understand some words because I'm an Arab but yeah.. Also they help me to improve my English

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Thank you so much! Hopefully it helps with understanding our different accents 😄💛🇬🇧 Arabic is really hard for English speakers, so I imagine it’s the same the other way around, too. But your English seems great! 🤍

[@СергейСеменов-д6н]

That's all noice, but.... Pls comment on if the BC accent implies the use of diphthongs in words like MEYNE '"mean", FEYL "feel" an that stuff?

[@marie-iz8hx]

a teacher once told me being from the black country we would never be anything i always hated our black country accent when i was growing up however learnt more about our history we are such a major historical place earliest known mention was in the doomsday book of 1066 and our accent is seen as the last of the middle age accent and way of speaking and our history in the industrial revolution, we made items for the titanic queen Elizabeth the first was a frequent visitor people who blast the black country learn our history, we are black country ay we and proud to be

[@alistairdarby]

Superb video! Most of my family are from Walsall, West Bromwich, and Sutton Coldfield. I grew up In Warwickshire and have lived in the south east of England (London/Surrey/Bucks) so lost my Warwickshire accent a little bit. I generally speak more Midlands at home or with family, but lecturing or when I was working in VFX, my accent became toned down.

[@user-od7bx3zg1f]

I'm Glaswegian and I work in an industry dominated with people who hide their accents to gain work in London. I've never changed it and I am very proud of that fact. Classism can go chuck itself in the bin.

[@maikeheilemann8970]

What an intriguing video! I'm an English and German student from Germany, so I'm just beginning to grasp the vast diversity of English accents and how they are perceived. One might think that people from outside the UK would be unaware of the general perceptions (often linked to classism) of the accents, but now that I think about it, it's astonishing how much of those preconceptions are transfered (transferred?) and conveyed through media (e.g. English films/series - I watch pretty much everything in English). So far I still haven't encountered an accent I find 'ugly' though. I'm just not a big fan of the American accent for some reason (I know that that's a VERY general term, but I mean for example the rhotic 'r' you were referring to or the pronunciation of t's as /d/ etc. found in most American accents). I can't explain why, but for some reason, I perceive the American accent rather lazy, annoying and not as educated as opposed to most British accents (I hope no one feels attacked - I'm far from judging people based on their accents, and I don't say it's ugly or anything, it's just a slight personal preference.) I also rather like your accent! It seems very sympathetic to me, personally. Though it's of course not super posh and fancy - but that's not necessarily a bad thing, I think 🤷🏽‍♀️ It's weird with German accents - we have a few well-known ones that vary from the standard ('high German' which I speak), but I don't know any stereotypes about German accents apart from the fact that people just generally find them really funny and often ridicule them. It's also an interesting perspective on accents when you're a foreigner speaking both languages, because I, for example, constantly reflect on how my own English sounds (especially since I'm studying to become an English teacher). Firstly, I try not to sound German 😂, then, I decided some years ago, that I, personally, definitely want to sound rather British than American - simply out of personal preference. And now I'm definitely at the point where I have to consider and differentiate multiple British accents since my own pronunciation is bound to be influenced by what I hear (I watch a lot of English films, series, yt videos, ...). It's interesting to notice how I am sometimes randomly influenced by what I last watched/listened to, and it's also confusing 😂 I watch lots of period dramas, in which the pronunciation and accent is mostly adapted to the respective time period (which also took me some time to notice and reflect on), so sometimes I would accidently pronounce a word like in some British period piece when at university, which is rather unfortunate 😂😂

[@oldmanjenkins6182]

Hitler

[@dazv3605]

Black country VS Brummie is as different as Manc vs Lancashire. The strong r is a feature of Irish accents obviously used by Americans.

[@drrd4127]

Love, I am from Glasgow. Trust me your accent is perfectly fine, it is very mild.

[@archaicmosaic]

I'm from Australia and I lived in the Uk for 6 months when I was 18, and I hope this is OK to say but while I was there I noticed a particular accent where quite a few people pronounce their Rs using R-labialization which I noticed you do too!

[@Red99971]

I love your accent 😍😍😍 I wish we could trade I have a Wisconsin accent😑

[@user-pm9fd3wj9x]

I'm so happy I found your channel! 💕

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Thank you so much ☺️💗💗

[@lorddarlo6194]

Yeah I got moaned at Primary School for speaking in non standard English using my accent by a kid. I do use it but people complain they can't understand me so I speak with the tone and shorten some words but speak clearly. But mostly spake in my accent as I Dow care

[@miamivicemami]

Hey Im an American. Bizarre how people associate accents with class and social standing. Im doing a video about how accents reinforce classism in film, your video is a great resource. Will cite you as a source. Thanks!

[@FadeToBlack888]

don't use her as a source tbh. she seems like a nice girl but just has a general British accent. i can't detect a hint of Brummie in her

[@jethroteece4750]

@@FadeToBlack888 I'm from Birmingham and loads of people say I have a posh accent 😂

[@idkwhattoputmyuseras8580]

I have a very strong black country accent so when i go too different places alot of ppl dont understand me😭

[@01Prodigious]

Northern Ireland Gaeilge Uladh not widely used they use some words or terms. But southern Ireland. Plus you definitely tell which part you be come from . Its not just way you speak its manorruism too such as postures and facial expressions. :-)

[@doubtz7826]

What u got the same accent as me (I’m from Telford) my scouse friends annoy me because of it

[@elliecroft5490]

love this video! I definitely think the prejudices against certain accents in the uk is 100% classism as some are seen as “common” and from “lower class areas” and I never thought about how the industrial places in the uk were seen as having “ugly” accents so that’s such an interesting insight! 😌

[@end8316]

I’m Welsh I’m not trying to victimise myself but when i speak with a welsh accent (not the nice melodic south wales accent) people just look visibly uncomfortable

[@maga9461]

Your accent is beautiful

[@maryam4851]

you have a beautiful accent 💗 it's hard though to get : ) 💗

[@user-wr5dh3pq8o]

Hi Savannah! I’m at Notts uni too and have a very strong Black Country accent & dialect, and I agree with everything you say! Personally I’m very proud of our area, and keep my Black Country flag up in my room at uni, but I do find code-switching exhausting as I’ve met a couple of people at uni who say they can’t understand me at times😂🥴 thank you for speaking about this, it’s nice to know someone feels the same!☺️

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Ahh it’s great to hear you’re proud of our culture! And yeah haha, I confuse some people sometimes :-) thank you for your comment! 🤍🤍

[@maryam4851]

i really love black country accent could you introduce me a channel of native speakers or news?

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Haha, watch peaky blinders :-) it’s on Netflix!

[@maryam4851]

@@SavannahPhillipss yeah i fell in love with black country accent when I watched peaky blinders thank you so much💗💗💗

[@ellenmay3]

this is so interesting!! i'm at UoN too xx

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Thank you! And yay! Hopefully I’ll see you around when all this is over 😃

[@grace82910]

I love your accent

[@colonyofrats4193]

I know you are a Brummie but you do have a very posh Brummie accents it’s barely noticeable

[@lilyrose9216]

She's not a brummie.

[@TAVideos786]

You did not talk about the "gordie" accent. What part of England do people speak in "gordie" accent? Is it true that if someone speaks in "gordie" accent then he/she can not get admission in Oxford University and Cambridge University?

[@neurodivergentdawn]

This is Newcastle I think

[@SavannahPhillipss]

People speak the Geordie accent up North in Newcastle area :-) and no, I don’t think that’s true- at least not in my experience haha 😄

[@thesolarengineer]

Now I've got those West Brom Blues 🤪

[@haiderhussain8515]

I really love this video very good 😊😊😊

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Thank you!! :-)

[@muhammadahmad2832]

Amazing 😮😮😮

[@yunusgezgen]

You speak very nicely:)

[@rohitdaheriya2386]

You have a very nice accent believe me I have indian accent and I got bullied a lot because of that

[@SavannahPhillipss]

Thank you! And oh no, I’m sorry to hear that 😞

[@mariec6056]

You aye Evann got an accent bab xx maybe because I’m Brummie but I can’t ere itt xx

[@mariec6056]

U sound posh to me 🤣🤣

[@GhulamMustafa-pn2xi]

I'm American. The accents from UK, Australia, and NZ it all sounds the same.

[@graemeherd6181]

She sounds like Salad fingers

[@matrixyoda]

Yama proper nice wench a ya🥰🥰🥰..Blackcountry 4LIVE🛠🇬🇧🇮🇳🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇯🇲🏭⚽️

[@TheBozmeister]

Yow sowund a bit posh Dow ya?

[@janatullahjanatullahj6370]

Saster please zakir Naik video is reaction you

[@maherdeabas7833]

Sister what happened to you that from your God and he knew what good for you just say thanks to God

[@idesireit31]

How you're speaking in the video, dosent really sound black country. Its hardly noticeable. You're giving a great lesson though.

[@fanspans7851]

I'm not focusing on the accent 👀 ♥