Assumptions of speaker ethnicity and the effect on ratings of accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility

Abstract

While listeners tend to downgrade speakers’ accent and comprehensibility when they perceive them to be from a different language community—a process known as reverse linguistic stereotyping (RLS)—research has generally relied solely on quantitative data such as Likert scale ratings. The current study sought to extend the analysis further by investigating the reasons which informed raters’ decisions. A sample of 210 Japanese university students (six groups of n = 35) were asked to listen to recorded speeches by native Japanese speakers. In a matched-guise design, the groups were either shown photos of a Japanese, Caucasian, or Southeast Asian male, and asked to provide ratings of accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility. They were then asked to report what factors influenced their comprehensibility ratings. In line with previous research, listeners rated non-Japanese guises as significantly more accented than the Japanese one, though differences in intelligibility were non-significant. A key finding was that while comprehensibility ratings were statistically comparable, the rationales given were qualitatively different. Groups who viewed the Caucasian or Southeast Asian photographs cited pronunciation issues significantly more than the Japanese group which reported grammatical and lexical factors as the reasons behind their downgraded ratings.

概要

これまで、聞き手が異なる言語コミュニティの出身者であると認識した場合、話者のアクセントや理解力を低下させる傾向があることは、Reverse linguistic stereotyping (RLS)として知られており、Likert scale rating などの定量データのみによる研究が一般的であった。本研究では、このような分析をさらに発展させ、評価者がどのような理由で評価者を決定しているのかを調査しました。日本人大学生 210名（6グループ、n = 35）を対象に、日本語母語話者による録音スピーチを聴かせた。その際、日本人、白人、東南アジア人の男性の写真を見せ、「なまり」「わかりやすさ」「理解しやすさ」を評価させた。そして、理解度の評価に影響を与えた要因を報告させた。その結果、日本語以外の音声は、日本語の音声よりも有意に訛っていると評価されましたが、理解しやすさについては有意な差はありませんでした。また、理解度の評価は統計的に同等であっても、その根拠は質的に異なるということも重要な発見でした。白人と東南アジアの写真を見たグループは、文法的、語彙的な要因で評価を下げた日本人のグループに比べ、発音の問題をより多く挙げています。

キーワード：:

• 理解しやすさ
• わかりやすさ
• 訛り
• 見た目
• ステレオタイプ

Keywords:

• Comprehensibility
• intelligibility
• accentedness
• appearance
• stereotypes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bradford J. Lee

Bradford J. Lee holds an Ed.D. in TESOL from Anaheim University, a M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Newcastle, and a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Hawaii. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Organization for Fundamental Education at Fukui University of Technology. His main research areas include phonology/pronunciation instruction, noticing/perception-based instruction, and smartphone-based writing. <[email protected]>

Justin L. Bailey

Justin L. Bailey holds a M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Leicester and a B.Sc. in Psychology from Aston University. He is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Organization for Fundamental Education at Fukui University of Technology. His research areas include test washback and English as a world language.