Attitudes towards accents

• Howard Gile’s matched guise technique:

  aimed to determine views and feelings and attitudes of people towards an accent/dialect

  • Variety of different students judging “people’s” accent and evaluating personal qualities based on voice
  • SAME PERSON SPEAKING IN DIFFERENT ACCENTS THROUGHOUT (students unaware)
• Howard Gile’s matched guise technique of research conclusions:

  • Students said received pronunciation was most impressive/influential
  • Brummie accent is least imposing/convincing
• Downside of Giles matched guise technique of research:

  • students may have realised that the same person was speaking throughout, may have alter results/statistics making some results invalid
• Communication Accommodation Theory - Howard Giles

  When speakers interact, they adjust speech their speech, vocal patterns and gestures to accommodate others

  • CONVERGENCE
  • DIVERGENCE