The most and least trustworthy accents revealed
Our accents can reveal a great number of things about us, from where we grew up to what social class we come from. It can also suggest to others how trustworthy you might be… and Charlotte Berman from The Traitors has the perfect example.
*Warning: Spoilers for Series 3: Episode 10 of The Traitors ahead
From the beginning of the current series of The Traitors, Charlotte has maintained a Welsh accent and claimed to be a native of Wales. However, her fellow players do not know that this is a fake accent and that Charlotte is actually from London.
Her reason for employing a fake Welsh accent is that it is "one of the most trustworthy accents". While viewers initially laughed at and mocked Charlotte’s strategy as the "worst" in the game, it turns out that she may be the one laughing after all.
Charlotte began the game as a Faithful and established herself among the other players as a loyal Faithful. However, she was later recruited as a Traitor by Minah Shannon - a devastating mistake that this week saw Minah being thrown under the bus by none other than Charlotte.
What’s become clear is that Charlotte has the trust of the other players in the palm of her hand. Even Minah, before she was banished from the castle, said multiple times that she trusted Charlotte and wanted to make it to the end of the game with her.
Watch: The Traitors' Minah says it was hard watching Charlotte betray her
The most and least trustworthy UK accents
Has Charlotte’s fake Welsh accent worked in her favour? According to research from dating platform Match, the Welsh accent is indeed viewed as one of the top five most trustworthy accents in the UK.
These include:
Received Pronunciation (also known as The Queen’s English)
Yorkshire
Welsh
Geordie
Edinburgh
Meanwhile, the top five least trustworthy accents are:
Birmingham (Brummie)
Scouse
Cockney
Essex
Glaswegian
Why do we see some accents as more trustworthy than others?
The way we view accents and how trustworthy they are is often rooted in stereotypes about the particular place and culture that the accent is associated with, explains author and psychotherapist Eloise Skinner.
"We might also have personal associations with an accent (for example, if we grew up in a certain place, or had a connection to someone with a strong accent). In terms of trust, research does suggest that some accents are associated with higher levels of trust than others."
These stereotypes can lead to bias against people from certain regions, which experts are concerned about as it may point to how stereotypes persist in the criminal justice system.
Recent research by the University of Cambridge and Nottingham Trent University found that people who speak with accents perceived as "working-class" risked being stereotyped as more likely to have committed a crime.
Accents that were seen as |working-class" included those from Liverpool, Newcastle, Bradford and London. Lead author Alice Paver said: "The strongest connection we found was between people's perceptions of class or status, negative traits such as aggression, and how they think someone is going to behave, particularly when it comes to crime. This is the first time that a concrete link between traits and behaviours has been made in the context of accent judgements."
How do you spot a fake accent?
We often think a fake accent will be easy to spot, but this isn’t always the case - just look at how Charlotte has convinced her fellow players. Skinner explains that some people may fake an accent in order to "manipulate the emotional responses of others".
"For example, to draw someone closer due to an association with trustworthiness or friendliness, or to identify themselves as similar to another person.
"Looking at it from the perspective of the person faking the accent, they might also be hoping to achieve a feeling of belonging or closeness with a particular community or group. It could work in some situations, although it's worth bearing in mind that faking an accent is often not a good long-term foundation for building connection with someone else," Skinner warns.
With two episodes of The Traitors left to go, some viewers believe Charlotte's accent may be slipping. But will the remaining Faithfuls be able to catch her out? Only time will tell.
To spot a fake accent, Skinner suggests: "Those who have an authentic accent from the particular place might be able to pick up on the nuances of a fake accent, and you could also watch out for times that the accent falls away (perhaps in moments of genuine emotion, surprise, or being caught off-guard)."
Read more about The Traitors:
How to deal with being frozen out by your peers, as The Traitors' Kasim opens up about isolation (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
The Traitors viewers are all saying the same thing about this season (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
The Traitors' Minah wants Charlotte to win 'to make betrayal worth it' (Yahoo Entertainment, 4-min read)
