Influence of generational cohort and experience with non-native speakers on evaluation of speakers with foreign-accented speech

Abstract

This article reports the effect of participants' generational differences and subsequent amount of contact with non-native speakers on the perception of foreign-accented speech in the context of internationalization of Japan. The participants were people in their 50s or 60s who were in variety of occupations. They spent their youth from the 1970s to the 1980s in Japan, when Japanese society went through a rapid change in terms of internationalization. Since then, the number of foreign residents has tripled and non-native speakers are commonly encountered on the street and in media. The participants' perception of speech was compared with that of the younger generation to determine whether the historical period in which people grew up affects their perception. It was found that regardless of the age of native listeners, foreign-accented speech was evaluated less positively than native speech. However, experience of contact with non-native speakers made a difference in some aspects of the judgment by native listeners.

You must be lying because I don’t understand you: Language proficiency and lie detection.

“…Observers should be questioned about their previous experiences interacting with nonnative speakers and their related expectations. Tsurutani and Selvanathan (2013) found that nonnative speakers’ accents made a negative impact on observers’ perceptions but that this effect was mitigated by observers’ previous contact (i.e., experience) with nonnative speakers. Thus, the impact of observers’ preconceived notions and experiences prior to the study may serve to explain their deception judgments.…”

Anglo‐Australian and non‐Anglophone middle classes: ‘foreign accent’ and social inclusion

“…The wording of questions was adjusted to the two groups so that the questions are equivalent rather than identical. The survey was specifically designed for this study with the questionnaire design based on practices common in sociology and sociolinguistic (e.g., Lindemann 2003; Fraser & Kelly 2012) and language attitude research (Garrett 2010;Tsurutani & Selvanathan 2013). Given that positive wording of questions is likely to entice higher levels of agreement and therefore lead to a 'social desirability bias', we include some negatively and some positively worded questions.…”

Research in the School of Languages and Linguistics at Griffith University

“…Three research projects explore this area. Research into the perception by Japanese native speakers of foreign-accented Japanese speech was completed by Chiharu Tsurutani (2012; Tsurutani & Selvanathan 2013). They found that despite respect for western culture in Japanese society, foreign-accented Japanese speech was evaluated less positively than native Japanese speech, although prior contact with non-native Japanese speakers influenced some aspects of native listeners’ judgments.…”