Main content

43. Do I really sound like that?

Matthew Syed explores how our accents are shaped and what happens when they change.

Julie Matthias is in the middle of a regular shift at her hairdressing salon when she begins to feel really strange.

Julie is taken to hospital with the symptoms of a stroke, but doctors can find no evidence she has had one. Initially, Julie is unable to speak properly at all. But when her voice returns, friends start to notice something strange. Julie鈥檚 standard Southern British accent, typical for the Medway area of Kent where she lives, has disappeared. In its place is a new voice, a new accent, which leads strangers to think she's from another country entirely.

In this episode of Sideways, Matthew Syed wants to understand how our accents evolve, and what happens when they change.

Charting Julie鈥檚 journey to understand the condition she has developed, and why her accent has disappeared, Matthew uncovers the intricacies of our accents and how they form a part of our identity.

Delving into our obsession with accents, and the stereotypes we associate with them, Matthew discovers how our accents change throughout our lives, and how this can impact the way we are treated. As it turns out, the accent is not just in the voice of the speaker, but crucially, in the ear of the listener too.

With Jane Setter, Professor of Phonetics at the University of Reading; Nick Miller, Emeritus Professor of Motor Speech Disorders at Newcastle University; and Alex Baratta, Senior Lecturer in Language, Linguistics and Communication at the University of Manchester.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producer: Pippa Smith
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Naomi Clarke
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for 成人快手 Radio 4

Available now

29 minutes

Last on

Mon 20 Mar 2023 00:15

Broadcasts

  • Wed 15 Mar 2023 15:30
  • Mon 20 Mar 2023 00:15

Sideways - Articles

Sideways - Articles

Features on some of the fascinating topics from Sideways with Matthew Syed.

My last 5p: How one homeless man鈥檚 generosity led to him marrying the love of his life

My last 5p: How one homeless man鈥檚 generosity led to him marrying the love of his life

How one act of generosity can have profound consequences.

Why we all need an alter ego

Why we all need an alter ego

Matthew Syed looks at how adopting an alter ego can help us all to access confidence.

What's the secret of making a smash hit pop song?

What's the secret of making a smash hit pop song?

Exploring the success of Max Martin, the behind-the-scenes genius behind 22 No.1 hits.

Podcast