L1 listeners’ evaluations of LX speech: the role of listener expectations and personality traits

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ABSTRACT LX speech tends to receive less favourable judgments, which can be attributed to its non-standard linguistic properties (e.g. foreign accents, grammatical errors). However, the evaluations of LX speech could also be affected by listeners’ expectations and their individual differences. This study extends research on the role of listeners’ expectations (cued by speech accent) and personality traits (Big Five), by examining the degree to which and how accent, grammaticality and listener personality interact to determine L1 listeners’ evaluations of LX speech. Sixty L1 English speakers (30 female) rated the acceptability of 40 English speech stimuli in a British or Polish accent; half of the stimuli were filled with English article errors. The listeners’ personality traits were self-reported via a short questionnaire of the Big Five factors. The significant interaction of accent, grammaticality and listener personality suggests that the occurrence of grammatical errors is less penalised in foreign-accented speech (vs. native-accented speech), unless the L1 listeners are highly conscientious or highly extraverted. The theoretical (expectation mismatch effect, Interpersonal Circumplex model), methodological (considering non-linear models and the moderation of contextual factors for personality effects) and potential practical implications (awareness training of personality effects) of the results are discussed.