The role of foreign-accentedness in lexical processing

Abstract

Previous evidence indicates that foreign‐accented speech influences spoken word recognition (accented stimuli are processed with reduced accuracy and slower response times). The present study aims to extend and further explore the relationship between foreign‐accentedness and spoken word recognition. Specifically, the present study strives to determine whether word recognition will modulate the ratings of foreign accentedness. Spoken words are easier to recognize in sentences that are in an appropriate context versus an inappropriate context. In order to determine whether listeners attribute the relatively slow and difficult spoken word processing in an inappropriate context to a relatively strong foreign accent, participants were asked to rate the strength of an accent for the final word in a sentence, as spoken by a native or a non‐native speaker. Crucially, half of the words were in an appropriate and the other half in an inappropriate sentence context. Ratings of accent and response times were obtained as a function of appropriate and inappropriate sentence context for both the native and non‐native speakers. Results provide new information regarding the relationship between foreign‐accented speech, indexical variability, and lexical access.