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Where Are You From? An Investigation into the Intersectionality of Accent Strength and Nationality Status on Perceptions of Non-native Speakers in Britain
Birney, Megan E. Rabinovich, Anna Morton, Thomas A.
Birney, Megan E.
Rabinovich, Anna
Morton, Thomas A.
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Abstract
We explore how interpersonal and intergroup perceptions are affected by a non-native speaker’s
accent strength and the status of their home country. When nationality information was absent
(Study 1), natives who heard a strong (vs. weak) accent rated the speaker as warmer but
immigrants as a group as more threatening. This result was replicated when the speaker’s
nationality was familiar (Study 2) but in this study, country status further shaped accent-based
perceptions: the strong (vs. weak) accented speaker evoked more positive interpersonal
perceptions when her country status was low, but more negative intergroup perceptions when her
country status was high. When the status of the speaker’s nationality was manipulated (Study 3),
we replicated the interpersonal perceptions found in Study 1 and the intergroup perceptions
found in Study 2. Findings support a holistic approach to investigating perceptions of non-native
speakers: one that considers nationality as well as accent strength.
Citation
Birney, M. E., Rabinovich, A., & Morton, T. A. (2020). Where are you from? An investigation into the intersectionality of accent strength and nationality status on perceptions of non-native speakers in Britain. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 39(4), 495-515. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X20932628
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SAGE Publications
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Journal of Language and Social Psychology
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10.1177/0261927X20932628
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1552-6526