Know thy neighbor! The effect of familiarity with European non-native speaker accents in English on Dutch and French listeners’ attitudes

Abstract

Due to globalization, English is increasingly used as a lingua franca between European non-native speakers. As Europeans will increasingly become familiar with each other’s accents, it is important to gain an understanding of the effect that familiarity with European non-native speaker accents has on the attitudes of Dutch and French listeners. The research method consisted of a review of literature, coupled with the collection and analysis of empirical data. The latter is based on an online survey that tested participants’ attitude towards twelve non-native speaker accents. The survey was filled in by 112 Dutch and French university students. The findings show that familiarity with an accent does not necessarily affect the authority, intelligence, and pleasantness of a speaker. Furthermore, a listener’s attitude towards a non-native speaker accent varies based on the accent that is rated, and the nationality of the rater. Repetition of this study with different non-native speakers and listeners is needed to advance the understanding of the effects that familiarity has on European non-native accents.