University Presentation Showcase: Undergraduate Division
What Influences Listener’s Perceptions of Foreign Accents?
Presenter Hometown
Louisville KY
Major
Psychology
Department
Psychology
Degree
Undergraduate
Mentor
Sara Incera
Mentor Department
Psychology
Recommended Citation
nordhoff, Brittany and Lively, Rachael, "What Influences Listener’s Perceptions of Foreign Accents?" (2020). University Presentation Showcase Event. 51.
https://encompass.eku.edu/swps/2020/undergraduate/51
Abstract
In today’s world there are more non-native than native speakers of English, making it current and important to understand how the way a person looks influences listeners’ perceptions of the speakers and their accents. A sample of Eastern Kentucky University students were presented with either a video or an audio clip. Participants rated the accentedness of each speaker on a response bar. The video clips included speakers who looked “native” or “foreign” and that sounded “native” or “foreign.” The results of the study show that all foreign-sounding participants were rated as “foreign” independently of their looks. However, when participants viewed a video of a native-sounding speaker that looked foreign, participants rated them as more accented (in the audio-only condition these native speakers were rated “native”). Participants rated the same audio-files of the native speakers that looked foreign as more accented in the video than the audio-only condition. Thus, listeners integrate visual information of the speaker’s face when processing accents. Native speakers that look foreign can be mistakenly perceived as having a foreign accent.
Presentation format
Poster
What Influences Listener’s Perceptions of Foreign Accents?
In today’s world there are more non-native than native speakers of English, making it current and important to understand how the way a person looks influences listeners’ perceptions of the speakers and their accents. A sample of Eastern Kentucky University students were presented with either a video or an audio clip. Participants rated the accentedness of each speaker on a response bar. The video clips included speakers who looked “native” or “foreign” and that sounded “native” or “foreign.” The results of the study show that all foreign-sounding participants were rated as “foreign” independently of their looks. However, when participants viewed a video of a native-sounding speaker that looked foreign, participants rated them as more accented (in the audio-only condition these native speakers were rated “native”). Participants rated the same audio-files of the native speakers that looked foreign as more accented in the video than the audio-only condition. Thus, listeners integrate visual information of the speaker’s face when processing accents. Native speakers that look foreign can be mistakenly perceived as having a foreign accent.
