Attitudes towards Native and Foreign Accented Englishes among (University) Students in the Netherlands

Abstract

This study investigated the attitudes of students in the Netherlands at Utrecht University towards foreign and native accents of English. 85 Dutch native speakers and 27 international students were asked to rate six recordings from second language speakers of English with Dutch or Arabic as their L1 and three recordings of native British speakers of English in terms of AUTHORITY and FRIENDLINESS. Results revealed that the participants are mostly neutral or positive in their attitudes towards both the foreign and native accents of English. Specifically, British English was rated the friendliest and most authoritative of the three, followed by Dutch accented English and Arabic-accented English. Despite the ranking of accents, statistical analyses revealed no significant differences between Dutch and international students’ attitudes towards the accents. These findings suggest a lack of linguistic bias among the student community in the Netherlands.