Same Words, Different Impressions: How Accent Upstages Words in Communication

The current study investigated how different non-native accents of English are perceived. A person\u27s accent can be used to take the place of the individual\u27s race or any other marker used to make judgements (Shuck, 2006). Participants listened to a recording of one out of five non-American female speakers of English from Mexico, Russia, Germany, India, or China, or a female native speaker of American English; the participants heard either a formal or informal text and then evaluated the speaker on factors of competence, caring/goodwill, and trustworthiness. Demographic data on age, gender, languages spoken, extent travelled, and time lived in another state or country were collected. Results are discussed in terms of phonological factors of the native languages spoken by the speakers and how this affects English pronunciation and intonation, as well as social bias