Do Language Attitudes Determine Accent? A Study of Bilinguals in the USA

Abstract

This study presents new data on the degree of ‘foreign ’ accent among immigrant learners of English in the USA (total N 50) as it correlates to learner orientation to the target language and target language culture. Correlation analyses confirm the significance of age of onset and length of immersion, as well as learner attitudes, including: (a) reasons for learning English; (b) perceived ability to improve in English; (c) desire to improve accent; (d) self-confidence in English; (e) comfort with assimilation to the target language culture (USA); and (f) intention to reside in the USA long-term. A close examination of the data points to three main conclusions: (1) language attitudes are significant for accent, as are more traditional measures such as age of onset with the target language and length of residence in the target language environment; (2) attitudes toward the target language itself are more powerfully linked to accent than are culture-directed attitudes, though both are significant; (3) a combination of experience and a positive orientation appears to be particularly important for attaining greater authenticity in accent. doi: 10.2167/jmmd514.

Relationship Among Brain Hemispheric Dominance, Attitude Towards L1 and L2, Gender, and Learning Suprasegmental Features

“…The findings are in line with the results of many other studies such as Moyer (2007), and Pullen (2011) who pointed out that foreign language learners with positive attitude towards second culture and language, tend to integrate with the target society and therefore adopt native like accent, and pronunciation (Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2012;Zhang & Yin, 2009). The findings also supported the general concept of the effectiveness of attitude in language learning process as reported previously in many studies (Rukh, 2014;Martinsen & Alvord, 2012).…”

“…The same finding was also observed in Cenoz and Garcia Lecumberri (1999) who stated that the positive attitude towards a target language and its culture, leads the person to choose the pronunciation with which they are identified for the second language. Similar results were also reported by Moyer (2007), who confirmed that language attitudes specifically towards the target language are significant for acquiring native like accent, and that positive orientations are important for attaining authenticity in accent. To sum up, although no specific study has investigated the effect of attitude on learning intonation, assimilation and word stress, similar studies conducted on other elements of suprasegmental features, as mentioned above, have confirmed the effectiveness of positive attitude towards L2 on learning these features.…”

“…In fact learning intonation, accent, and pronunciation of the second language is to a great extent affected by learners' sense of identity and attitude towards second culture and language. As many studies have pointed out, foreign language learners who have positive attitude towards second culture and language, tend to integrate with the target society and therefore adopt the favorite accent (Cakir & Baytar 2014;Darabad, 2003;Moyer, 2007;Pourhosein Gilakjani 2012;Pullen, 2011;Sparks & Ganschow, 1991). Elliot (1995) conducted a dedicated study on the relationship between L2 attitude and foreign language pronunciation learning using the Pronunciation Attitude Inventory (PAI).…”

How non-native English-speaking staff are evaluated in linguistically diverse organizations: A sociolinguistic perspective

“…On the other hand, it is also possible for non-standard speakers to consider their accents as a source of positively understood uniqueness in comparison with standard speakers (Brewer, 1991;Moyer, 2007). Where this happens, non-standard speakers may adopt a more proactive and assertive approach in communication (Gluszek & Dovidio, 2010).…”

Good English Pronunciation Users and Their Pronunciation Learning Strategies

“…For example, Moyer (1999) and Bongaerts, van Summeren, Planken, and Schils (1997) place professional orientation for L2 learning among the most important factors in explaining good pronunciation. Similarly, Moyer (2007) finds a significant correlation between the degree of a foreign accent and the desire to improve it. Both integrative and intrinsic motivations have also been reported to correlate positively with L2 learners' desires to sound native-like and the degree of foreign accent (Purcell & Suter, 1980;Sardegna, Lee, & Kusey, 2014;Smit, 2002).…”