Orð og tunga - 26.04.2018, Page 157

146 Orð og tunga
Lykilorð
erlendur hreimur, dulin viðhorf til máls, staðalmyndir, málbreytileiki, hulinspróf
Keywords
foreign accent, covert language att itudes, stereotypes, language variation, matched-
guise technique
Abstract
Att itudes to languages and language varieties are oft en diverse, generally being infl u-
enced by individuals’ backgrounds and environment. This study investigates which
background variables infl uence evaluations of foreign-accented speech in Icelandic.
538 Icelanders evaluated eight audio cues according to eight personality traits con-
nected with prestige and solidarity. The speakers (all female) represented the largest
immigration groups in Iceland. They were from the following countries: USA, Den-
mark, the Philippines, Lithuania, Poland, Thailand, and Germany. Additionally, one
native speaker of Icelandic was recorded. The verbal guise technique was employed,
thus concealing speakers’ backgrounds. Statistical analysis revealed that women and
those over 60 are generally more positive in their evaluation as compared to men or
those under 60 years. Other background variables, such as residency, education or
profession, showed much variance between individual accents and personality traits.
The fi ndings indicate that people’s background infl uences att itudes towards accents.
Overall, results imply that those accents which can be categorized as Western are
preferred to those that belong to Eastern Europeans or Asians. An ideological catego-
rization of that kind has the power to potentially infl uence the deep-rooted linguistic
climate in Iceland and to make way for a hierarchical system built on perceived na-
tiveness and non-nativeness.
Stefanie Bade
Doktorsnemi í íslenskri málfræði
Íslensku- og menningardeild
Háskóla Íslands
stefanie@hi.is
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