Foreign accent as a means of creating the language features of a character

The purpose of the article is to identify the peculiarities of the actor's linguistic characterization using a foreign accent in the process of working on the role and to establish the dependence of the actor's ideas about the character's personal characteristics and social status on the degree of accent color. The methodology of researching a foreign accent as a means of creating a linguistic characteristic of a character is complex. The method of theoretical-conceptual and theoretical-linguistic analysis of special literature on accent issues, features of comparison of intonation systems of different languages are applied; typological method and method of system analysis, which contributed to the study of acting tools in the process of working on the linguistic characteristics of the character, etc. Scientific novelty. The foreign language accent in the context of the specifics of the actor's work on the creation of the image is studied; it is stated that the actor's imitation of a foreign accent involves the use of special phonetic tools with the addition of grammatical and/or lexical factors in order to enhance the effect; the complexes of articulation-acoustic features inherent in the Ukrainian language with French, English, British, Italian, Estonian, Jewish and Caucasian accents, as well as the peculiarities of the actor's work on their imitation are analyzed. Conclusions. Foreign language accent as a linguistic characteristic of a character is one of the most important means of identifying his personality because a person's speech skills create an idea of ​​the environment to which he belongs, can provide information about his origin. In stage speech, a foreign accent is used to give the character's language a sharp character, vivid imagery, and truthfulness and realism of his behavior - the accent is part of the character's "I", a familiar form of expression related to national and family life. Foreign accent, as well as the territorial type of pronunciation, is perceived by the viewer stereotypically and is an indicator not only of personal characteristics, but also a marker of his social status, and its level is associated with education, intelligence, leadership, and self-confidence. The actor’s strategies for developing foreign accents in the process of working on the linguistic characteristics of the character are to use appropriate deviations from the phonetic, lexical, and grammatical norms of the Ukrainian language. Keywords: stage speech, foreign accent, actor, artistic image, character, linguistic characteristic.

Segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English

Research suggests that explicit pronunciation teaching improves second language speech production, but language teachers often lack the relevant knowledge to teach pronunciation. This study examined segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English and the relationship between segmental errors and foreign accent ratings in two groups differing in amount of second language experience. Our study identified a number of common segmental error patterns in Finnish-accented English, which may guide formal pronunciation instruction. We further found that the sheer number of segmental errors in a sentence affected foreign accent ratings as did the number of vowel errors in a sentence. We speculate that the detrimental effect of vowel errors may be related to the finding that vowel errors resulted in non-English segments more often than consonant errors did. Finally, we found a facilitative effect of second language experience on foreign accent rating that cannot be reduced to number of segmental errors, despite the finding that number of consonant errors was reduced with increased second language experience.

Speech Therapy (Rehabilitation Therapy) in Foreign Accent Syndrome in a Turkish Patient: A Case Report

: One of the consequences of a stroke in human is a foreign accentual syndrome, which is often caused by trauma or stroke. One of the most important injuries in this syndrome is a disruption in prosodic units. The present report is about a 47-year-old woman with a brain tumor who speaks with a different accent than hers. Acoustic analyses were performed using the Praat software version 6.0.35. This paper indicates consistency with most of the damage reports in prosodic units, including stress, rhythm, pause, and speed of speech. Significant changes occurred in the prosodic units of the patient under study within 12 weeks. In addition to the decrease in the number of pauses and speech duration of the patient, pitch variations, increased coordination, and precision in articulation, also an increase in the expression of the number of words was observed during the patient’s speech. Due to the rarity of foreign accent syndrome, further research in this area is important for speech and language pathologists in terms of differential diagnosis and speech therapy.

Is There a Foreign Accent Effect on Moral Judgment?

Recent studies have shown that people make more utilitarian decisions when dealing with a moral dilemma in a foreign language than in their native language. Emotion, cognitive load, and psychological distance have been put forward as explanations for this foreign language effect. The question that arises is whether a similar effect would be observed when processing a dilemma in one’s own language but spoken by a foreign-accented speaker. Indeed, foreign-accented speech has been shown to modulate emotion processing, to disrupt processing fluency and to increase psychological distance due to social categorisation. We tested this hypothesis by presenting 435 participants with two moral dilemmas, the trolley dilemma and the footbridge dilemma online, either in a native accent or a foreign accent. In Experiment 1, 184 native Spanish speakers listened to the dilemmas in Spanish recorded by a native speaker, a British English or a Cameroonian native speaker. In Experiment 2, 251 Dutch native speakers listened to the dilemmas in Dutch in their native accent, in a British English, a Turkish, or in a French accent. Results showed an increase in utilitarian decisions for the Cameroonian- and French-accented speech compared to the Spanish or Dutch native accent, respectively. When collapsing all the speakers from the two experiments, a similar increase in the foreign accent condition compared with the native accent condition was observed. This study is the first demonstration of a foreign accent effect on moral judgements, and despite the variability in the effect across accents, the findings suggest that a foreign accent, like a foreign language, is a linguistic context that modulates (neuro)cognitive mechanisms, and consequently, impacts our behaviour. More research is needed to follow up on this exploratory study and to understand the influence of factors such as emotion reduction, cognitive load, psychological distance, and speaker’s idiosyncratic features on moral judgments.

Cenerentola entra a palazzo: il nuovo ruolo della pronuncia nell’insegnamento linguistico

This paper provides an overview of the current status of L2 pronunciation teaching and shows that there is a greater appreciation for L2 pronunciation teaching today than there was in the past. The paper starts by reviewing the main theoretical approaches in pronunciation teaching of the past 70 years and introduces today’s approach focusing on ‘speech intelligibility’ rather than on the achievement of native-like pronun-ciation. It then addresses the following issues: what we mean by foreign accent and speech intelligibility; how foreign accent can affect communication and speakers’ integration in society; what challenges present-day L2 pronunciation teachers; how technology can help.

Accent, Comprehensibility, and Confidence in Second and Third Languages of Adolescents: How Do They Relate to Language Proficiency and Language Interactions?

Purpose This study examines the degree to which adolescents in Iceland are judged by native Icelandic speakers to have a foreign accent both in Icelandic and in English, two languages that are learned under different conditions, as the community and school language, and through school and incidental exposure. Method Fifty-eight adolescents, 27 with Icelandic as their first language (L1), 21 as their second language (L2), and 10 as one of two L1s read passages in Icelandic and English. Twelve untrained native speakers of Icelandic rated the degree of foreign accent, comprehensibility, and confidence level and selected from multiple-choice options what they thought was the L1 of the speakers. Results Significant group differences were found in Icelandic but not in English. L2 speakers had a significantly greater foreign accent than the other groups in Icelandic; however, there was substantial overlap with some L2 speakers judged to be native and some L1 speakers judged as nonnative. All groups had a significantly greater accent in English than in Icelandic. Accent was judged more sternly than comprehensibility and confidence and related differently to vocabulary proficiency. Conclusions Accent is typically not considered in studies of bilingual attainment in children for purposes of clinical assessment or educational placement but should be given closer attention. The study confirms previous findings that many young L2 learners have a detectable foreign accent. The overlap with L1 speakers also raises questions about the ideal of a native accent. More research is needed on how accent relates to bilingual and multilingual proficiency and on its impacts on comfort level, ease of communication, choice of language, and language exposure.

Foreign Accents in the Early Hiring Process: A Field Experiment on Accent-Related Ethnic Discrimination in Germany

Based on a field experiment conducted in Germany between October 2014 and October 2015, this article focuses on the disadvantages associated with the presence of a foreign accent in the early hiring process, when applicants call in response to a job advertisement to ask whether the position is still available. We examine whether a foreign accent influences employers’ behaviors via productivity considerations and/or whether foreign-accented speech is related to statistical discrimination or tastes among employers or customers that translate into differential treatment. To address these processes, we supplement our field-experimental data with information on job and firm characteristics from the texts of vacancy announcements and advertising companies’ homepages, on labor supply from the Federal Employment Agency, and on anti-immigrant attitudes from the German General Social Survey. Results suggest that while calling with a Turkish name did not result in a lower rate of positive replies, this rate was reduced for candidates who called with a Turkish accent. Turkish-accented applicants were told more often than the advertised position was already filled. Our findings suggest that the difference in response rates was not due to productivity considerations related to how well individuals understood foreign-accented speakers. Instead, results support the notion that the observed disadvantages were linked to discrimination based on employers’ ethnic tastes. While we found no indications pointing to the relevance of customer tastes or statistical discrimination, we cannot rule out these processes altogether. Our findings demonstrate that language cues can be more relevant than applicants’ names in shaping employers’ initial responses. They, thereby, highlight the need to consider multiple ethnic cues and different stages of the hiring process.