Stop it! Reducing the impact of non-standard accentedness in the workplace: The impact of a self-disclosure comment on English accented speech in the workplace.

Abstract

Stronger foreign accents tend to be perceived more negatively than slight or native accents. Past studies have investigated the effect of accented speech on the evaluation of non-native speakers in different contexts. However, little to no research focused on how accent-based discrimination can be approached from a speaker's perspective. Humour and self-disclosing comments have been found to have positive effects on the perception of a speaker. Therefore, this study aimed to examine and measure the effect of a neutral or humorous self-disclosing speaker comment on the evaluation of a slightly or moderately French-accented speaker of English in a hiring context. 168 International participants, who did not have French or English as their mother tongue, have been asked to evaluate French English accented speech. Evaluations were based on the following variables: comprehensibility, hireability and attitudinal measures (likeability, status dynamism and competence). Findings confirmed the main effect of accent strength for comprehensibility.