Scientists reveal why British people may sound intelligent

By Jim Leffman via SWNS

The reason why Brits sound more intelligent to Americans has been revealed by scientists - and it's all down to a misunderstanding.

Americans use the word 'right' in conversation to show they know what someone is talking about.

But Brits, who use the word more than Americans, use it to indicate that what they have heard is new to them.

Thus when Americans talk to Brits it appears to them that we are already knowledgeable about what they are saying.

The study, by Rutgers University in New Jersey, drew on a collection of approximately 125 segments of everyday conversation and work discussions, including 70 segments in British English and 55 segments in American English.

They also discovered that a British accent contributes to the American stereotype that British people are smarter because some believe that it sounds more sophisticated.

Study coauthor Galina Bolden, Professor of Communication at Rutgers, said: "In this paper, we have examined differences between the US and UK uses of the response particle right so as to resolve the puzzling misunderstanding.

"We found Americans use the word 'right' to indicate they are already knowledgeable or informed about a given subject or situation.

"By contrast, British English speakers use 'right' to indicate that what they hear is informative, and relevant to the ongoing interaction.

"In this case, Americans hear British speakers claiming to already know what they are being told – even though they don’t."

The study, published in the Journal of Pragmatics, came about after the researchers noticed the misunderstanding in a conversation between a Brit and an American.

They found the way to convey their epistemic stance, how they lay claim to different levels of knowledge, differed.

Prof Bolden added: "We have shown that in producing right, US speakers convey their knowing stance towards what is being told to them and may also convey their epistemic authority over the matter.

"In contrast, British rights are used to acknowledge new-to-them information and its relevance to the in-progress course of action.

"Further research could examine the entire landscape of these kinds of response particles in particular positions in the US vs UK data with an eye towards the kinds of stances they convey.

"Such analysis might enable researchers to explore whether the differences between the two language varieties are primarily linguistic or cultural.”