If a person talks like you, then you are more likely to perceive them as being like you, even if appearance is different.
If I meet a person who lives here but who comes from India or Pakistan and who speaks with an accent from that place, I perceive them as foreign although they live here
If I meet a similar person who speaks with a Scottish accent, then I will perceive them as local - as belonging here.
If I meet a person who lives here but who comes from Yorkshire and who speaks with a Yorkshire accent then I perceive them as foreign (from Yorkshire) although they live here
If I meet a similar person from Yorkshire who speaks with a Scottish accent then I would think they were local - as belonging here - being Scottish.
If I meet a person who lives in Edinburgh but comes from Glasgow, I would immediately know he/she came from Glasgow and vice versa - and each would think the other to be Scottish, but different from them
If I met someone who had been to a posh private school and spoke posh BBC English, but who lived in Scotland, then I would think they were posh - from either England or Scotland - but most Scots would think they were English.
What I am getting at is this
In the UK- it is accent that divides.
Learn the same accent as your neighbours and you will blend in and be accepted - if that is what you want.
The best place for children to learn this - is at school.
I lived in Canada for a while. If I had decided to stay permanently, I would have worked on losing my British accent as much as possible. I like to feel that I belong where I live.
But do we want to lose our UK regional accents?
At present there are massive differences in accent between Glasgow (Billy Connolly) Edinburgh (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) Aberdeen, the Highlands, the Western Isles etc.
I think it would be tragic to lose them.
So perhaps it is a case of ""VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE
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