Perception Of Accent Research Articles

Maintenance of Lexical Pitch Accent in Heritage Lithuanian: A Study of Perception and Production

This study investigates how the unique circumstances of heritage language acquisition impact prosody, an understudied aspect of heritage speech. I examine the perception and production of lexical pitch accent by two generations of heritage Lithuanian speakers in Chicago (n = 13), with a qualitative comparison to one normative native speaker also living in Chicago. The speakers participated in the following: (1) a perception task requiring them to identify meaning distinctions between pairs of words that differ only by accent; and (2) a production task in which they produced sentences containing nine nominal declensions, where pitch accent plays a morphological role. In task (1), speakers across the board were not able to identify meaning distinctions in accent-based minimal pairs, irrespective of their frequency, and were more accurate at perceiving pairs that differed on the basis of segmental phonological features. However, HSs with more education perceived more accent-based distinctions, as did HSs who were more engaged in the Chicago community. Older HSs maintained more distinctions than either the NS or the younger HSs, which suggests a change in progress in the language or the Chicago Lithuanian community. In task (2), none of the speakers consistently used pitch to signal word-level prominence. Instead, all speakers relied on changes in duration and vowel quality to signal word-level prominence, suggesting that, for these speakers, there has been a shift to a stress-accent system. The older HSs was also patterned more like the NS in their retention of the expected stress in the nominal declensions. Dialect was also determined to play a role in the retention of standard accent patterns in both perception and production.

Categorization of second language accents by bilingual and multilingual listeners.

This study examines how listeners categorize second language (L2) accents and how their linguistic background affects this categorization. Ninety-eight adult bilingual and multilingual Greek listeners categorized accents in a familiar (British English)-unfamiliar (Australian English) L2 accent condition. Data were collected through an online survey and analysed using binomial mixed-effects models and signal detection analysis. The results demonstrated that both bilinguals and multilinguals exhibited low performance in the task, potentially due to their decreased familiarity with the Australian English accent and the fact that the two accents are phonetically similar. However, despite both groups' low performance, multilinguals outperformed bilinguals in accent categorization accuracy. This advantage could be attributed to a combination of cognitive and social dynamics. Results expand upon prior research, indicating that exposure to accent variation enhances listeners' abilities to categorize non-native accents. The study provides important theoretical implications for the perception of accents and practical insights into foreign language learning and multilingual communication.

Perceptual Benefits of Linguistic Diversity and Language Background: Evidence from Auditory Free Classification of English Dialect Accents and Asian-Accented English

Non-linguistic factors leave a distinct thumbprint on our speech production that is perceptible to listeners. A steadily growing line of research demonstrates that listeners can perceive a contrast between native and non-native (L2) speakers based on accents and further classify these speakers according to dialectal variation, even when they are not native speakers of a language. Most of these studies have focused on dialectal variation within US English speakers, a combination of US and International English dialects, or L2 speakers representing a wide range of languages. Most have also featured listeners who are monolingual native speakers of the target language coming from a homogenous background, or a contrast between these and a targeted set of L2 speakers. We therefore lack knowledge of how exposure to, or familiarity with, diverse accents and languages, or specific native language competence of the native language of L2 speakers, can guide listeners’ accent perception and categorization. In this research, we employed a free classification task, presenting listeners with speech samples of native speakers with accents representing multiple English dialects, and L2 speakers of nine Asian languages across three geographic regions speaking Asian-accented English. There were six groups of listeners: monolingual US English listeners in a diverse linguistic context, monolingual US English listeners in a homogeneous linguistic context, native speakers of a non-Asian language and English (bilinguals), and native speakers of each of the three target Asian language groups who are L2 speakers of English. The results reveal that nearly all listeners are sensitive to accents capturing native/L2 contrasts and dialectal variation in English. While regular exposure to a diversity of accents results in increased classification accuracy, classification of Asian L2-accented English speakers is best performed when there is alignment of similar language family and geographic area, as demonstrated by South Asian listeners.

Retuning Ears & Rewiring Brains for Effective Communication: Foreign-Accent Perception & Sensitivity Training (FAPST)™

Purpose: Communication and psychosocial challenges are associated with processing regional or foreign accents. These challenges result in discrimination, marginalization, and reduced opportunities for culturally, linguistically, or racially diverse people. As a departure from the controversial approaches of training speakers to speak more effectively, this paper presents an innovative and effective methodology to train listeners instead and make the communication environment more “accent friendly”. Built upon two decades of testing and evidence, the Foreign Accent Perception & Sensitivity Training (FAPST)TM is used to develop skills in listening to accents, reducing implicit biases, and increasing appreciation and enjoyment for interacting with accents and cultures. Methodology: 320 undergraduate students from eight sections of a Diversity Issues course were provided the FAPST training online that included 15-20 minutes of gamified experience, over four weeks, in listening and identifying 54 varieties of accent in a structured, multimedia procedure. Assessments included weekly Accent Identification Scores as well as a pre- and post-survey using the CCQ tool to assess listeners’ baseline knowledge, attitudes, stereotypes, preferences, and skills related to processing accents. They also received formative assessments, feedback, and engaged in self-reflections. Results: Paired t-tests showed significant improvement in Accent Identification Scores which increased from 52% in week 1 and reached 75% by week 4, significant at p <0.05 level. The post-training CCQ survey results showed that Factual Knowledge scores improved significantly from 42% to 78%, Stereotypes scores reduced significantly from 89% to 22%, and Competence scores improved significantly from 23% to 76%. Participants reported increased confidence in listening accuracy and improvement in noticing details in accent patterns. Participants reported increased interest and willingness to interact with diversity. Participants also reported increased awareness of discrimination, and willingness to show allyship and advocacy for diverse individuals. Conclusion: This project confirmed that students have preconceived attitudes and biases as well as lower skills and confidence in interacting with diversity and accents which factor in their decisions and preferences to communicate with people with certain accents. It becomes imperative to set students up for success and engagement in a globalized world by training them with skills to navigate diversity. Results show that such a training improves listening accuracy as well as develops increased confidence and interest in engaging with diversity, while reducing implicit biases and stereotypes, along with increased factual knowledge of, and competence with accents.

L1–L2 Influence in Intonation: A Case of Russophone Immigrants in Brazil

This paper is devoted to the features of sentence prosody (intonation) in Brazilian Portuguese spoken by immigrants whose first language is Russian, and explores the consequences that L1–L2 influence in intonation may have for communication. The study addressed four research questions: (1) Do Brazilian Portuguese L2 speakers with Russian L1 always succeed in producing the correct utterance type? (2) Can L1–L2 influence lead to misunderstanding of connotations? (3) Is it possible that sometimes L1–L2 influence leads to being perceived as too emotional or not emotional enough? (4) Can L1–L2 influence in intonation be a significant factor in the perception of accent? In a perceptual experiment, productions of four target utterances in Brazilian Portuguese by Russian L1 and Brazilian Portuguese L1 speakers were evaluated by 124 Brazilian listeners in terms of sentence type, possible connotations, accent and arousal. The target utterances included three questions of different types and an exclamation. The findings revealed that the speaker’s L1 influenced the perception of prosodic meanings by Brazilian listeners. In some cases, interference from Russian melodic contours caused the incorrect identification of the sentence type in Brazilian Portuguese. However, even when sentence type was perceived correctly, differences could be found regarding the perception of arousal or accent.

Effects of listeners’ dialectal variation on comprehensibility and accentedness judgements of second language speech

Abstract This study investigated the impact of listeners’ dialectal variations within the same L1 on perceptions of L2 speech comprehensibility and accentedness. Thirty untrained British and American English-L1 raters assessed recorded L2 speech samples from 29 Finnish learners of English and provided scalar judgments for their comprehensibility and accentedness. Four linguistically trained graduate students evaluated the samples for segmental accuracy, speech rate, word stress and intonation. Results of linear mixed models indicated no significant effect of raters’ L1 variety on global comprehensibility and accentedness ratings. While American and British raters relied on same pronunciation features in their comprehensibility judgments, they placed different levels of importance on pronunciation features when making accentedness judgments. Particularly, both groups primarily exhibited sensitivity towards segmental errors in their assessments of accentedness, whereas American raters demonstrated an additional sensitivity to intonation. The findings underscore the complexity of accent perception based on the L1 variety of listeners.

The Negative Transfer of Chinese Phonology on Students English Accents and Its Impact on Accent Perception

The Negative Transfer of Chinese Phonology on Students English Accents and Its Impact on Accent Perception

Using computational models to study accent adaptation: A tutorial

One of the limitations in accent perception research is the difficulty of quantifying how much exposure is needed to observe adaptation to a novel accent. While numerous studies have investigated this issue (Baese-Berk et al., 2013; Clarke & Garrett, 2004), it has been impossible to control for individual-level differences and solely focus on linguistic differences with human participants. However, computational models can be intentionally set in terms of these features to better understand the process of adaptation to novel accents. Here we discuss how machine learning models can be implemented using PyTorch, a framework in Python made by Meta. PyTorch allows for the easy creation of language learning models that can be used in speech-recognition experiments (Paszke et al., 2019). Here we use the Wav2Vec2 model created by Meta, pre-trained on 960 hours of the Librispeech ASR corpus (Panayotov et al., 2015). We discuss importing the model and fine-tuning it using samples of different accents. Next, we demonstrate building a decoder using a greedy algorithm to transform the model's classification into a transcript. Our goal is to compare simulations against data from human participants and tease apart the direct effects of individual variability on accent perception.

The role of gradient speech categorization in accent perception

A key question in speech perception research is how listeners categorize highly varied signals into discrete units. The long-held assumption was that listeners discard variation and focus on the category itself (categorical perception, Liberman et al., 1957). However, listeners often encounter highly varied speech signals (e.g., processing unfamiliar accents). In such cases, discarding variation can be detrimental for listeners and can lead to more processing difficulty. Here, in an ongoing online study (n = 80), we measure English-speaking adult listeners’ speech categorization patterns with a continuous measure (the Visual Analogue Scaling Task: Kutlu et al., 2022; Apfelbaum et al., 2022) to see whether they are more susceptible to phonetic variation in their language environments. We index adults’ language exposure with an extensive social network survey which quantifies the extent to which they are exposed to varied accents on a regular basis and what those accents are. We then asked participants to recognize spoken sentences from a diverse set of unfamiliar accents. We predict that adults who are more gradient in their speech categorization are more accurate in transcribing sentences with a diverse set of accents.

The contribution of suprasegmental cues to perceived L1 and L2 accent distance

First (L1) and second language (L2) pronunciations that diverge more segmentally from the local accent are rated as more distant. However, fewer studies have addressed relations between suprasegmental features, such as intonation, and accent distance. We examined the relation between perceived accent distance and four suprasegmental measures: time normalized f0 Euclidean distance, mean F0, pitch range, and speaking rate. Thirty adults completed six ladder tasks in which listeners ranked talkers’ perceived distance from the local accent. For each ladder, listeners heard one sentence produced by 24 talkers: one man and one woman from six L1 and six L2 English varieties. Each suprasegmental measure independently predicted distance rankings with a variety of significant interactions. Talkers with higher accent rankings had narrower pitch ranges, lower mean f0, faster speech, and greater f0 Euclidean distance. Furthermore, suprasegmental measures related to accent distance differentially based on syntactic structure. For example, as f0 Euclidean distance increased, accent rankings increased for interrogative sentences, but not for declarative sentences. These data support the need for future studies examining how suprasegmental features impact perception of L1 and L2 accents. [Work supported by NSF grants 1941691 and 1941662].

Quantitative assessment of English accent variation: Levenshtein distance and perceptual identification

This is a perceptual study with a basis in acoustic phonetics. It investigates the extent to which accents of English can be quantified by the Levenshtein distance (LD), a string metric. LD defines string similarity by the minimum number of character edits required to transform one string into another. Narrowly transcribed speech samples of English provide the phonetic strings required for LD comparison. For the purposes of the current experiment, 24 speakers representing four English accent varieties are included: Midland American (control), British/Australian, Hindi-influenced, and Mandarin-influenced. High- and low-pass filters are used to augment or attenuate perceptual contribution of high- versus low-frequency information in the speech signal. Predictions stem from published correlations between LD and listeners’ perceptional ratings of intelligibility and native-likeness. For a group of monolingual American English listeners, confusion is expected between Midland American and British/Australian accents due to similarly low LDs, further intensified by low-pass filtering. However, fewer confusions are predicted between Hindi- and Mandarin-influenced English, due to varying L1 influences and the absence/presence of tonal information. This research seeks to explore accent perception, investigating the relationship between manipulated aspects of the speech signal and listener identification.

On the Perception of a Chinese American English Accent

On the Perception of a Chinese American English Accent

DIALECTOLOGY IN MODERN LINGUISTIC RESEARCH: THEORETICAL APPROACHES AND METHODS

In the context of modern dialectology, we are observing the influence of a wide range of new theoretical approaches and technological innovations that are changing the traditional understanding and study of linguistic dialects. The development of digital technologies, especially in the areas of machine learning and big data processing, opens up new opportunities for analyzing language structures and the interaction between different dialects. This allows researchers to study and understand language differences in more detail and assess their impact on social and cultural processes. Modern dialectology also integrates cognitive and socio-linguistic approaches, enabling a more complete consideration of language as a complex system that reflects not only communicative but also cognitive and sociocultural aspects of human life. Expanding the availability of language data, in particular, through online platforms and social networks, opens up new perspectives for studying the dynamics of language dialects in the modern world. This requires us to rethink traditional approaches and adapt them to rapidly changing socio-cultural conditions. The research shows how the use of synchronic, diachronic and cognitive approaches enriches the understanding of linguistic variations. Particular attention is paid to the influence of cognitive linguistics on the perception of linguistic dialects, as well as the role of structural approaches and diasystems in understanding the interrelationships of different dialects. The conclusions of the academic paper emphasize the need to integrate various approaches in modern dialectology. The combination of traditional and innovative methods makes it possible to gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of language differences and their role in social and cultural processes. The success of modern dialectology lies not only in the preservation and use of traditional methods but also in the active incorporation of the latest research strategies that reflect the rapid changes in the linguistic and sociocultural landscape.

When your accent betrays you: the role of foreign accents in school-to-work transition of ethnic minority youth in Germany

ABSTRACT Given the challenges immigrants and their descendants face in entering the labour market, we add to the existing literature by considering a previously neglected explanation: a foreign accent. Using unique data with objective accent measures from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU), we first establish whether foreign-accent effects could be found in a non-experimental setting. Second, we seek to disentangle the accent effect by human capital, signalling, and discrimination approaches. Finally, we explore the extent to which employment and educational paths of accented speakers reflect their self-selection into the fields of study that lead to occupations for which accented speech is not a precondition. Our findings demonstrate that respondents with a stronger foreign accent are more likely to be found in occupations for which language skills are less essential. This is in line with the human-capital explanation. Self-selection tendencies might also be present, even though the findings are equivocal. Our analyses lend no support to the statistical discrimination explanation, as employers’ perceptions of foreign accents do not vary according to the extent of their contact with accented speakers at work or at home.

Влияние иноязычного акцента на профессиональную коммуникацию: эмпирическое исследование

The literature review over the past 20 years indicates a particular interest towards foreign accent perception in business environment and reveals biased attitude of natives, whether employers or employees, to non-nativeness in terms of phonological competence in the studied field. While the attitude of natives has been thoroughly researched, immigrants’ opinions might vary and require careful consideration. This study aims to examine to which extent, if any, a foreign accent in the German language affects professional communication of Russian-speaking immigrants living and working in Germany (in fields including IT, finance, healthcare, education, etc.). In total, 108 participants aged 22-62 completed a questionnaire, the primary purpose of which was to explore whether a foreign accent is perceived as a hindrance in business environment. The research included a quantitative analysis of gathered statistical information processed via JASP software, as well as a qualitative analysis of open-ended items. The major finding indicates that for 39.8% of the participants, a foreign accent has no influence on interactions within a business context. According to the results of the questionnaire, 31.5% of the respondents have never found themselves confronted with a problem of not being understood due to a foreign accent. Finally, for more than a half of the surveyed participants, namely 53.7%, their foreign accent had no bearing on the accomplishment of job-related tasks as part of the working process whatsoever.

Language Attitudes and Multilingualism: Perceptions of Native and Non-Native Accents in Multilingual Communities

This research explores into the complex interplay between demographics, language preferences, and how an audience interprets an accent in multilingual communities. Our study employed a quantitative methodology to examine how receptive individuals of three age groups were to linguistic variety. The purpose of the research was to learn more about the linguistic diversity present in these active groups. Our findings add significantly to the body of knowledge on this subject. The study's results highlight the importance of age in influencing linguistic attitudes in bilingual and multilingual contexts. It is important to note that younger generations have generally more positive attitudes regarding dominant or prominent languages associated to modern trends and global communication. On the other hand, older people tend to have a deep love for their native tongue and regional identity. The aforementioned generational differences underscore the dynamic nature of linguistic attitudes and emphasize the role of age-related sociolinguistic factors in shaping individuals' linguistic preferences and connections. Curiously, in multilingual societies, age does not have a major role in how an accent is perceived. This research provides new insight into how people of varying ages respond to and interact with speakers with a variety of accents. Exposure to a variety of languages, individual views about language, and the effects of being multilingual all contribute to the development of adaptability. Potential implications for promoting linguistic diversity, easing cross-cultural communication, and creating welcoming environments that encourage contact among people of different language backgrounds are shown by this study's findings.

Intercultural Communicative Competence and Attitudes towards English Accents: Exploring the Nexus among EFL speakers

The purpose of the present study is to explore the interplay between intercultural communicative competence and attitudes toward English accents among L2 English speakers at the tertiary level. Additionally, the study sought to examine the impact of self-rated proficiency and the year of enrollment in the degree program on the results. The participants were freshmen and sophomore students enrolled in the English Translation and Interpreting Department at a Turkish state university. To gather data, the students were asked to complete a survey in which they self-assessed their intercultural communication competence and rated four English accent varieties on a 7-point Likert scale, considering status-related, and solidarity-related characteristics as well as language-focused qualities. The findings indicated that there was no direct relationship between the self-rated intercultural communication competencies and perceptions of different English accents among EFL speakers. These findings held true for when excluding ratings of the American English variety from the analysis, but significant findings emerged, especially in regard to individual speech samples. Furthermore, the self-reported proficiency level of EFL speakers and their status as second-year students in the degree program showed a positive correlation with intercultural communicative competence.

Dialect perception in song versus speech

Investigations into style-shift in singing led to the proposal of genre-specific musical sociolects [Coupland, 2011, J. of Soc. 15]. Gibson [2019, Univ. of Canterbury Dissertation] demonstrated that style-shift in popular music is automatic. Additionally, Mageau et al. [2019, Phonetica 76] found non-native English speakers have a less perceptible foreign accent while singing than speaking. These findings provide possible behavioral analogues to the differential processing of speech and song. Gibson [2019, UofCanterbury Dissertation] accounts for this using Todd et al’s [2019, Cognition 185] exemplar theory, emphasizing the role of sung and spoken contexts in perception. We investigate the role of musical context in accent identification. 24 participants completed a dialect-identification task of 32 musical clips from two genres with strong sociocultural associations: country and reggae. 16 clips contained the original instrumental-removed vocals, and 16 different clips from the same songs additionally underwent monotonization and rhythm-normalization. Responses to the manipulated stimuli were more varied than the original vocals. Listeners’ judgements may be more closely tied to country and reggae’s sociocultural associations than speech information itself. These findings counter Mageau et al., illuminating a more complex relationship between accent perception, music, and genre. Future work will investigate this for dialect-nonspecific genres and adjust approaches to stimuli manipulation.

Social Priming: Exploring the Effects of Speaker Race and Ethnicity on Perception of Second Language Accents.

Listeners use more than just acoustic information when processing speech. Social information, such as a speaker's perceived race or ethnicity, can also affect the processing of the speech signal, in some cases facilitating perception ("social priming"). We aimed to replicate and extend this line of inquiry, examining effects of multiple social primes (i.e., a Middle Eastern, White, or East Asian face, or a control silhouette image) on the perception of Mandarin Chinese-accented English and Arabic-accented English. By including uncommon priming combinations (e.g., a Middle Eastern prime for a Mandarin accent), we aimed to test the specificity of social primes: For example, can a Middle Eastern face facilitate perception of both Arabic-accented English and Mandarin-accented English? Contrary to our predictions, our results indicated no facilitative social priming effects for either of the second language (L2) accents. Results for our examination of specificity were mixed. Trends in the data indicated that the combination of an East Asian prime with Arabic accent resulted in lower accuracy as compared with a White prime, but the combination of a Middle Eastern prime with a Mandarin accent did not (and may have actually benefited listeners to some degree). We conclude that the specificity of priming effects may depend on listeners' level of familiarity with a given accent and/or racial/ethnic group and that the mixed outcomes in the current work motivate further inquiries to determine whether social priming effects for L2-accented speech may be smaller than previously hypothesized and/or highly dependent on listener experience.

Non-native listeners perceiving foreign accentedness of English speech: new evidence from Chinese and Spanish listeners

As an international language, English is an important tool for people of different native languages to communicate with each other. Many empirical studies, proving that foreign accents are prevalent in L2 learners’ oral English, involved native speakers as raters of foreign accents. This study compared the rating patterns of listeners from Chinese, Spanish and English language backgrounds with different English proficiencies for foreign accents in English speech and investigated the acoustical cues used by these listeners. Results showed that Chinese listeners, sharing language backgrounds with talkers, tended to be more tolerant for the Chinese accent in English speech. Spanish listeners had a stricter criterion for mild Chinese accents, proving that the influence of listeners’ L1 on their perception of foreign accents can be different for different degrees of accents. The effects of listeners’ L2 proficiency was found for Chinese listeners’ perception of accents and the number of acoustic predictors used by non-native English listeners. The study provides more evidence about the mechanism of native and non-native listeners’ perception of foreign accent and offers implications for the recruitment of raters for the assessment of oral English.