The reason to conduct this study lies within the question of how German (and therefore non-native) speakers of English evaluate different ways to speak the English language. How do they judge its speakers to be as a person and is this dependent on the variety he or she speaks? It will be interesting to see whether what way of speech they personally prefer to speak or what kind of education they received influences their judgement of the speech samples presented to them. A lot of research of attitudes towards varieties for the educational sector has been done, but the aim of this paper is rather to show whether this attitude is also influenced by visual stimuli and how non-natives in Germany evaluate the different ways of speaking English, to have an impression of how these attitudes in everyday encounters may look like. Consequently, there are several hypotheses which are to be tested by two questionnaires and with the help of the TV series "Downtown Abbey".
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 A Case Study: Background and Conceptual Design
3 A Case Study: Data Collection, Analysis and Results
4 A Case Study: Discussion of Results and Future Prospects
5 References
Research Objectives and Themes
This study aims to investigate how German non-native speakers evaluate various British English varieties, focusing on whether these attitudes are influenced by visual stimuli and the speakers' personal backgrounds. By conducting a case study using clips from the TV series 'Downton Abbey', the research seeks to compare perceptions of standard and non-standard varieties regarding social status and solidarity.
- Analysis of linguistic attitudes toward standard versus regional British accents.
- The impact of visual information on the evaluation of speech samples.
- Comparative study of two participant groups based on their familiarity with the source material.
- Correlation between individual proficiency, educational background, and evaluative judgments.
- Assessment of character traits, prestige, and solidarity markers in non-native perception.
Excerpt from the Book
1 Introduction
When it comes down to the way we speak, there can be plenty of variety in a dialect, yet also in a language. Living in Bavaria, one recognizes pretty quickly that there are – at least for most inhabitants - two styles you can choose to speak between. There is both the standard variety, so-called ‘Hochdeutsch’ and also various dialects, depending on where you live. But what influences this choice of style? Research of the past decades has shown that there are specific attitudes, even stereotypes towards both speakers of the standard and non-standard variety of a language. This phenomenon is in a way also present in Britain. Although, one has to say, McArthur (1979) showed that British speakers normally do not switch between two varieties, but rather change their style to adjust their language to a situation. In fact, they stay with their variety, which is either regionally coloured or more or less the standard. This standard is often referred to as ‘Received Pronunciation’ (RP) or ‘BBC English’.
Before previous research on this topic of attitudes towards varieties of English is presented here, there will be a short overview what this paper will aim at and how it is composed. A distinction between the key terms ‘attitude’, ‘stereotype’ and ‘prejudice’ as well as a definition of ‘accent’, ‘dialect’ and ‘variety’ will be given to clarify what is meant by each of them in the course of this paper. At the end of this introduction, the aims and hypotheses further investigated here will have been presented. The second chapter deals with the background of this study and the above mentioned previous research. As the speech samples of British varieties chosen here are taken from the popular tv-series ‘Downton Abbey’, this chapter provides further information on that area as well as on the questionnaires and techniques used. Moreover, another look is taken on reference studies and their link to this one and its hypotheses. In chapter three, the test procedure is laid down in detail with regard to its results.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter introduces the linguistic phenomenon of language variety and sets the objective to analyze German non-native speakers' attitudes toward British English accents using 'Downton Abbey' as a case study.
2 A Case Study: Background and Conceptual Design: This section reviews historical milestones in language attitude research and outlines the methodological framework, including the semantic differential scale used for the study.
3 A Case Study: Data Collection, Analysis and Results: This chapter details the execution of the survey, the demographics of the two participant groups, and presents the empirical findings regarding their evaluations of specific characters.
4 A Case Study: Discussion of Results and Future Prospects: This chapter interprets the collected data against existing research, confirms the influence of visual stimuli on perception, and suggests future directions for intercultural communication studies.
5 References: This section provides a comprehensive list of all cited online sources, essays, and monographs utilized for the research paper.
Keywords
Language Attitudes, British English, Non-Native Speakers, Received Pronunciation, Sociolinguistics, Downton Abbey, Matched Guise Technique, Accent Perception, Stereotypes, Language Varieties, Semantic Differential, Solidarity, Status, Intercultural Communication, Language Proficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines how German non-native speakers of English perceive and evaluate various British English varieties, specifically investigating the role of social attitudes, stereotypes, and personal linguistic backgrounds.
What are the primary thematic areas explored?
Key themes include the distinction between standard and non-standard varieties, the impact of visual stimuli on social judgment, and the difference between 'status' traits and 'solidarity' traits in language perception.
What is the main research objective?
The goal is to determine if German non-native speakers perceive accents differently based on visual cues and whether their own linguistic background (dialect vs. standard) influences their judgment of British speakers.
Which methodology is applied in this study?
The author uses a questionnaire-based approach featuring audio and video clips from 'Downton Abbey', asking participants to rate characters on a five-point bipolar scale of adjectives, similar to the "semantic differential".
What does the main body of the text cover?
It covers the theoretical background of language attitudes, a review of previous milestone studies by researchers like Giles and Chiba, the experimental setup of the current survey, and a detailed discussion of the results.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is best characterized by terms such as language attitudes, sociolinguistics, accent perception, Received Pronunciation, and intercultural communication.
How does visual information affect the results of the case study?
The study found that visual information (such as seeing the character) affects the overall judgment, as participants familiar with the series showed different evaluative margins compared to those who only heard the audio tracks.
What did the study conclude regarding the influence of gender and age?
The study found that gender did not play a significant role in attitude formation, while age showed that older participants (over 50) tended to have a more balanced view and avoided extremes on the evaluation scales.
Was there a difference in how 'status' and 'solidarity' were perceived?
Yes, speakers of standard varieties were generally judged higher on 'status' traits like intelligence and competence, while speakers of non-standard varieties were often perceived more favorably regarding 'solidarity' traits like humor and sociability.
- Quote paper
- Marlene Weber (Author), 2015, Attitudes of German Non-Native Speakers of English Towards British Varieties, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/307145
