The word of 2022 and the impact of the accent on educational and professional development

The word of 2022 according to Collins English Dictionary – a dictionary of British English – is permacrisis. This choice was influenced by the war in Ukraine, inflation, climate change and political instability. Permacrisis is a “prolonged period of instability and insecurity”. In the list of 10 words of 2022 also included the words like: partygate (scandals involving politicians’ parties during a pandemic), Kyiv (a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance), warm bank (a public space in which one can get warm), quiet quitting (fulfilling only basic duties at work), vibe shift (a change in atmosphere or culture), Carolean (the beginning of the reign of King Charles III), lawfare (a way of using the law), splooting (animal behaviour to keep cool) and sportswashing (using sport to improve one’s reputation).

More than 3,500 members of the academic and professional community were surveyed during the production of a report by the Sutton Trust looking at  the impact of a person’s accent  on their perception in educational and work settings. 46% of those working and 47% of those studying had been ridiculed in social settings because of their regional accent. 25% of employed people had encountered this distress at the workplace and 30% of students at university. Concerns about accent were more pronounced earlier in life, with differences between social classes becoming more apparent further down the career ladder. The authors of the report recommend that employers should aim for greater workplace diversity in terms of people with different accents.