A Linguist Explains How Accents Change Our Perceptions Of Characters In Wuthering Heights
There has been quite the to-do about the latest adaptation of Wuthering Heights by director Emerald Fennel but one thing I am not seeing as much discussion on is the accents delivered by Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
Jacob has a somewhat questionable (though I liked it...) Yorkshire accent and Margot has a lovely-if-misplaced Received Pronunciation (RP) accent which is traditionally associated with English upper classes. Think ‘BBC accent’.
Now, research from language learning app Babbel which polled 2,000 adults and found that the sexiest accents did in fact include Yorkshire accents as well as Northern Irish which took the top spot, Welsh and Scouse (Liverpool).
With this in mind, HuffPost UK spoke exclusively with Babbel’s cultural and linguistic expert Noel Wolf about why accents are crucial to our perceptions of characters in film and TV.
The role of accents in Wuthering Heights
According to Wolf, we can learn a lot about Cathy’s background just from her voice. He says: “Accents are more powerful than how someone sounds, they’re emotional signposts that tell us who a character is before they’ve even spoken a full line. In Wuthering Heights, Emerald Fennell uses accents as a form of character development.”
This is contrasted with Jacob Elordi’s Yorkshire accent, which Wolf says grounds Heathcliff in the wildness and isolation of the moors. He says: “It carries grit, passion and a defiant edge that feels inseparable from the landscape itself.
“Margot Robbie’s polished Received Pronunciation (RP) by contrast embodies Cathy’s gentility and control, reflecting how she’s shaped by class expectations and her yearning to belong to a more refined world.”
Why Cathy’s accent changes in Wuthering Heights
One thing I did notice and admittedly didn’t really understand was why Cathy’s voice changed as the film goes on. However, Wolf explains that this is actually clever storytelling: “What’s particularly striking is how Cathy’s accent evolves over the course of the film. As she grows older her accent subtly shifts towards RP, as elements of her earlier, earthier tones fade.
“That change is far from incidental; it’s a perfect example of how an accent can illustrate internal conflict. The refinement of her speech signals her attempt to rise above her roots but also her loss of spontaneity and the growing distance from the passion she once shared with Heathcliff. Accent becomes a kind of emotional barometer, showing us her transformation before her choices do.”
The emotional impact of Healthcliff’s Yorkshire accent
If you came away from Wuthering Heights with a new-found crush on Jacob Elordi, his accent as Heathcliff may have had something to do with it. Wolf says: “For modern audiences, that awareness of linguistic nuance deepens the emotional realism. We’re subconsciously attuned to the cues accents provide. For example, a Yorkshire accent feels unguarded and direct while RP often conveys education and social aspiration.
“When those qualities collide between two lovers it amplifies the sense of longing and impossibility. The result is a story in which language itself becomes part of the tension, reminding us that desire, class and belonging are all expressed not just through what we say, but how we say it.”
Beautiful!