TimesTalks: Michael Caine: An Accent That Broke Class Barriers | The New...

How much do we judge people based on their accent? My husband has a Spanish accent, and when he first meets people in the US, they talk slowly, loudly, and with simple words. He hates it! As the conversation continues and he starts talking about string theory or calculus, people realize that although he has an accent, he has a broader vocabulary than they do. We tend to think of people in groups and classes based on the way they talk, but how much does an accent really say about someone? It only reflects the neighborhood they grew up in, not the quality of their character nor the extent of their education. So I'm trying to refrain from judging people by their accents, and I encourage you to do the same.