ERIC Number: EJ1452539
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Dec
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-6001
EISSN: EISSN-1477-450X
Available Date: N/A
Accent Bias in Professional Evaluations: A Conceptual Replication Study in Brazil
Cesar Teló; Rosane Silveira; Ana Flávia Boeing Marcelino; Mary G. O'Brien
Applied Linguistics, v45 n6 p1010-1029 2024
Evidence from Canada suggests that accent bias can be moderated by speakers' demonstrated job-relevant performance and the prestige level of their occupation (Teló et al. 2022). In this study, we replicated Teló et al.'s (2022) work in Brazil. First language (L1) Brazilian Portuguese-speaking listeners rated audio recordings of L1 Brazilian Portuguese and L1 Spanish speakers along continua capturing one professional (competence), one experiential (treatment preference), and one linguistic (comprehensibility) dimension. Our findings challenge the notion of consistent bias, as listeners did not uniformly perceive L1 Brazilian Portuguese speakers as more competent and comprehensible than L1 Spanish speakers, and, in fact, generally preferred treatment provided by L1 Spanish speakers. Complex interactions provided a nuanced account of listeners' evaluations, revealing, among other patterns, that demonstrated performance level and job prestige affected the evaluated dimensions differently depending on the speaker's L1. This replication further expands the initial study by examining the role of four listener variables as predictors of speaker ratings. Greater listener familiarity with the context depicted in the script was associated with the assignment of higher ratings overall.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Portuguese, Spanish Speaking, Social Bias, Employment Qualifications, Social Status, Competence, Attitudes, Predictor Variables, Professional Personnel
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Brazil
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A