Style or accent?: Gendered perceptions of English among young Bahrainis

Abstract

Abstract Although both are recognized as different speech types, an accent is generally understood as unintentional, whereas style is performative. This study argues that with increasing rates of contact in globalization between people, resources, and cultures, ‘accent’ can be reconceptualized as closely intersected with ‘style’ in Expanding Circle contexts. My analysis of metacommentaries from English‐dominant young Bahrainis shows that the interaction of English with local (gendered) ideologies leads to the perception of English, especially with a foreign American(ized) accent, as ‘emasculating’ and the prevalence of locally accented English ideals in Bahraini men. Applying a scalar‐chronotopic approach, I show how the notion of a foreign English ‘accent’ may overlap with ‘style’ as opposed to being, as commonly understood, an unintentional manner of pronunciation. The analysis clearly shows that Expanding Circle contexts are not entirely norm‐dependent on Inner Circle contexts and has further implications for our understandings of prestige, language, and gender.

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