Wrong accent on parcels delivery
6th February 1982, Page 22
6th February 1982
Page 22
Page 22, 6th February 1982
— Wrong accent on parcels delivery
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Keywords :
Linguistics, Express Mail, Accent, Dialectology, Phonology, Sociolinguistics, United Parcel Service, Regional Accents Of English, Labor
A LONDONER who alleges that he lost a job with United Parcel Service, America's biggest parcel-delivery company, because of his English accent, suing the company in Michigan for discrimination. He said he was told that his speech might be difficult for some midWesterners to understand.
Yet when, some years ago, I was invited by telephone to address an American transport association's annual conference on the British licensing system, was assured: "It doesn't really matter what you talk about. The delegates will just go overboard for your English accent."
Unfortunately the date clashed with an important event in this country and I was unable to do a Niven.
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A LONDONER