Accent, Identity and Attitudes to Accent

Which linguists repeated the matched guise experiment after Howard Giles?

The matched guise experiment developed by Howard Giles in the 1970s has been repeated by various other linguists, such as Peter Trudgill (1983).

What idea did Peter Trudgill put forward about how speakers judge language varieties?

Peter Trudgill (1983) put forward the idea that speakers judge language varieties on the basis of beliefs about geographical locations.

How does Trudgill’s idea explain how accents are judged?

Trudgill suggested that accents are judged not on how they sound, but on what areas of the country they are associated with.

What did Trudgill argue about responses to unfamiliar accents or regions?

Trudgill believed that when speakers are unfamiliar with an area, their responses to language varieties are inconsistent or non-existent.

Which linguists carried out perceptual and phonetic experiments on American English dialect identification in 1999?

Purnell, Idsardi and Baugh (1999) carried out perceptual and phonetic experiments on American English dialect identification.

How did Purnell, Idsardi and Baugh conduct their housing discrimination experiment?

A telephone conversation took place whereby a variety of different ‘voices’ telephoned a landlord and requested housing over a short period of time.

What accents were used in the housing discrimination experiment by Purnell, Idsardi and Baugh?

The ‘voices’ used in the experiment came from a range of accents, including Standard American English, African American English (AAVE) and Chicano English.

What is Standard American English?

Standard American English is defined as the historically prestigious accent in the USA.

What is African American English (AAVE)?

African American English (AAVE) is a variety of American English associated with African American speech communities.

What is Chicano English?

Chicano English is a dialect of American English heavily influenced by the Spanish language and spoken primarily by Mexican Americans.

What did the results of the housing discrimination experiment demonstrate?

The results demonstrated that landlords discriminate against prospective tenants on the basis of the sound of their voice during telephone conversations.

What success rate did Standard American English have in obtaining a house viewing in the experiment?

The Standard American English voice gained a 70% success rate at obtaining a viewing for a house.

What success rate did Chicano English have in obtaining a house viewing in the experiment?

The Chicano English voice only had a 30% success rate at obtaining a viewing for a house.