viewtopic.php?f=43&t=45878&p=397317#p397317
I thought that I should quote it here because it makes for a good point of entry into this topic.
Some people speak a variety of a language that is widely recognized as good or desirable. This can be due to its social prestige, its proximity to the language's standard form, clear pronunciation that for most people is easy to understand, or certain aesthetic qualities that many regard as pleasing to the senses or otherwise "cool". In 69ixine's case, he's a native speaker of middle-class Ohio English which for a long time was a standard accent for American media and is easily understood by practically all Americans as well as most other Anglophones.
Then there's the opposite phenomenon. Others speak a variety of a language that is widely be considered low prestige, substandard, difficult to understand, uneducated or bumpkinish, uncool or ugly, or undesirable in some other way.
I myself really don't like the variety of English that I speak. I speak a substandard form of Northern English and quite badly due to certain speech difficulties but, to be honest, I don't even like standard British English either. I feel a peculiar aversion towards the language. In fact, I never wanted to be born in the UK. I dislike its culture immensely and feel no connection to the place. My aversion towards British English adds to this feeling.
Speaking a variety of a language that one doesn't like is a burden. It can diminish enthusiasm for communication and therefore serve as a muzzle of sorts. I for one aren't very verbally expressive in my native language. I'm usually quite taciturn and inhibited. I never make speeches or YouTube videos or anything like that. Instead I only write, and quite prolifically. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I feel held back by being saddled with a bumpkin dialect that I dislike and which I don't feel comfortable speaking. How could I ever therefore be loquacious?
If it were possible, I'd much rather speak a better form of English like a nice standard North American variety that is smooth and easy to understand, or better yet, another native language that suits me more since I don't feel suited to Anglo culture anyway. I'm quite envious of Americans and Canadians who express themselves so clearly and fluently in their better forms of English. And also of people who speak normal languages natively. My own variety of British English on the other hand sounds low-quality and just even plain retarded and I'd rather not speak it at all if I can help it.
Fortunately, I speak Spanish which I began learning at age 17 and spend substantial periods of time in Spain and Latin America. Whenever I'm in those regions, I cut all contact with the Anglophone world outside of the occasional telephone conversation with family and friends and speak nothing but Spanish for months on end. Spanish is a normal language. It has a pure phonology and a good flow. It is also well-designed and expressive. Speaking Spanish instead of English feels liberating. I no longer speak like an uncultured bumpkin.
Also, whenever I'm in Spain and Latin America, I avoid Anglophone expats, tourists or speakers of English as a second language. Such unsavory people are simply a nuisance because they might pressure me to speak that substandard bumpkin crap. I don't want to have to speak my native dialect. It only makes me feel uncomfortable, especially when I already have a Ferrari of a language that is Spanish. I'm an aristocratic soul, not a peasant; I love quality.
Some people hate their own accent, dialect or language. I even made up a word for this. I call it "oikoglossophobia". But such a condition can be quite burdensome and restrictive. It can hold you back in other areas of life.
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