Notes on Richard Cauldwell's presentation on accent and identity

Notes on Richard Cauldwell's presentation on Accent and Identity: Prejudice and insecurity

Sonocent audio note taker

Outline:
Definitions
Prejudices
Accents, identity, change, variation
Insecurity and self-worth
Thriving with 

Prejudice: OALD, 8, an unreasonable dislike

Prejudice league table
Best- received pronunciation (RP)

Worst- Birmingham 

Prestige accent: BBC type of worry (A Lloyd James)

It is spoken by those who properly called the best people

If you want clarity- go to non standard accent

Prejudices: self-loathing, poor self-worth

Foreign language syndrome. Accent can change dramatically if you've got a stroke. 'losing accent. Losing identity.'

People change, accents change

Multiple accents, vary depending on who they're talking to

Prestige accent: embarrassment

John Wells's blog, BrE

Attainment Models? Target pronunciation? Richard's argument

Typical learner's problem: leave
Thriving in English

English as a lingua Franca (Jennifer Jenkins)

English is not ours
Reference models are very useful, but they are not what people speak
ELF movement can help us identify attainment model

ELF can remove the sense of poor self-worth

Final thoughts:
No such thing ad good accent
People are multi-accented

We are surrounded by voices od people who not speak the reference model- they thrive. 

Use prestige accent ad a reference model, not model/achievement target

Not as a measure of professional expertise