THE IMPLICATIONS OF ACCENTED SPEECH IN COURTROOM SETTINGS

Abstract

There is a long-standing literature showing that a person's accent is a potent cue for listeners to form impressions, socially categorize, and stereotype. This thesis presents an integrative review of this research. There is a long-standing literature showing that a person's accent is a potent cue for listeners to form impressions, socially categorize, and stereotype. This thesis presents an integrative review of this research. Specific attention is paid to the differences between foreign-accented and native speakers and the impressions formed in relation to credibility, truthfulness, socioeconomic status, and solidarity. Consideration is also given to the interactive effects of background noise, perceived ethnicity, and expectancy violations on perceptions of foreign-accented and native accented speech. The thesis concludes with a consideration of its applicability to real life settings, particularly the influence of accented speech in the context of courtroom settings.

Keywords: Accented speech, credibility, language attitudes, court, jury bias.