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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Catherine Wylie

Man who changed accent to fit in was asked if he was from ‘desolate wasteland’

A man from Stockport who changed the way he spoke to fit in at university said he was once asked if his home town was “one of those desolate wastelands where the factories used to be”.

Ben Jones, 28, now a senior leader at a school in Bolton, became aware of how his accent influenced people’s first impressions of him when he arrived for freshers’ week at university.

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