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SPEAKING with a Yorkshire accent can make you sound more intelligent – especially compared with Brummies.
A study carried out by Lance Workman, a psychologist from Bath Spa University, found that a Yorkshire accent can have a positive effect on how clever you appear to other people, whereas speaking with a Birmingham accent can have a negative effect.
During the study, Dr Workman asked 48 people to look at photographs of female models while listening to a recording of women with different accents.
They were played examples of women speaking the Queen's English, in a Yorkshire accent and in a Birmingham accent. Participants were also shown the same pictures in silence, with no voice to accompany them. They
were then asked which of the models they found the most intelligent.
The women with a Yorkshire accent were rated highest for intelligence. Those with a Brummie accent were seen as less intelligent than any of the others, even those paired with silence.
Dr Workman said: "It appears that having some regional accents doesn't quite have the stigma that it had in the past. Certain regional accents are now perceived to have wisdom.
"Perhaps this is an effect of the fact that mainstream television and radio is no longer mainly populated with those speaking the Queen's English, and this has made regional accents more acceptable.
"Unfortunately, though, the Birmingham accent was received so negatively that our participants preferred the models who did not speak at all."
Dr Workman is presenting his findings today to the British Psychological Society's annual conference in Dublin.
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