GMB guest challenges doctor over accent comments
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Linguist expert Dr Rob Drummond has been slammed for claiming it is offensive to mimic someone’s accent. Actress and linguist Harriet Thrope told ITV’s Good Morning Britain questioned whether she is allowed to mimic the accents. She said: “It doesn’t have to be bad. It doesn’t have to be negative.
“Every cartoon today has an accent, every Lego person has an accent. Every commercial, everything that children watch.
“Am I not allowed? It doesn’t mean I’m abusing people or not respecting them.
“I’m creating an accent and it sounds like we’re not allowed to do that anymore.”
It comes in response to Dr Drummond who said accents enforce stereotypes.
Dr Drummond had said: “Using accents in a particular story or a joke for some kind of comedic effect and there’s mimicking someone’s accent to their face and behind their back.
“I think both are problematic but for perhaps different reasons.
“You’ve got to think if you’re using a particular accent in a story or a sitcom, why am I using this particular voice?
“The chances are because of some kind of lazy stereotype and all you’re doing by using that is reinforcing this stereotype.
“These kinds of stereotypes are almost always negative and often pretty damaging because somebody’s voice is so connected to who they are; connected to their social class, gender, sexuality.
“When you’re kind of using it in a mocking, stereotypical way it’s not a million miles away from using sexist, racist, homophobic language.”
More to follow…
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