ABSTRACT
The moment a person opens their mouth the listener is making judgements about them; about their status, social class, level of education and even personality. Close your eyes and think of a university professor; imagine them talking – what do you hear? It is likely that you imagine an older man talking in a Standard English (or Received Pronunciation) accent, probably with a high-pitched voice and a rapid rate of speech. Few of us will imagine someone with a strong Cockney accent, for example. We all have a set notion of how people speak and make assumptions about them based solely on their accent, voice, rate of speech, pitch/resonance and dialect.
