Otago

EAWW

Evaluating English Accents WorldWide: Questionnaire

This is the cover page for the questionnaire we used, plus sample pages for speaker No. 1.

Multinational English Accents Evaluation Survey 2000

In this study, we are interested in the impressions that speakers create in listeners. Often, we gain a sense of what a speaker is like from the person's voice alone, for example when we hear an stranger on the radio or talk to a stranger on the telephone. We will play recordings of 9 speakers for you. Each speaker will say the same thing, so you should pay attention to the way the person sounds rather than to the content. After you hear each speaker, take a moment to think about the person while we pause the tape, then fill in the first part of the questionnaire by circling the number that is closest to your impression. For example, if you think the speaker is very happy, you would circle a 5 or a 6, but if you think the speaker is not happy, you would circle a 1 or a 2. Don't take too much time over any item, but give us your first impression. There are no right or wrong answers, and first impressions are often more reliable.

Once you have heard all 9 speakers, we will play them a second time. After each speaker, answer the questions in the second part of the questionnaire by circling the response that is closest to your impression of the speaker. Once again, give us your first impression, as there are no right or wrong answers.

Donn BayardUniversity of Otago, New Zealand
Cynthia GalloisUniversity Of Queensland, Australia
France MuglerUniversity of the South Pacific, Fiji
Niti PawakapanNational Singapore University, Singapore
George RayCleveland State University, USA
Kirk SullivanUmeå University, Sweden
Ann WeatherallVictoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Before you begin, we would like some information about you, to help us present the study. Please complete each item. Thank you for your help.

SexM F
 
Age________________
 
Group________________
 
Student statusFull-time Part-time
 
Birthplace__________________________________________
 
Ethnicity__________________________________________

Time spent in English-speaking countries and which ones:

__________________________________________

Time spent watching English language TV/films per week:

__________________________________________

Which three English language TV programmes do you watch most:

__________________________________________

Speaker Number 1

This speaker gave the impression of being:

  Not at all         Very
Reliable 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ambitious 1 2 3 4 5 6
Humorous 1 2 3 4 5 6
Authoritative 1 2 3 4 5 6
Competent 1 2 3 4 5 6
Cheerful 1 2 3 4 5 6
Friendly 1 2 3 4 5 6
Dominant 1 2 3 4 5 6
Intelligent 1 2 3 4 5 6
Assertive 1 2 3 4 5 6
Controlling 1 2 3 4 5 6
Warm 1 2 3 4 5 6
Hardworking 1 2 3 4 5 6

The person's speech was:

  Not at all         Very
Pleasant 1 2 3 4 5 6
Attractive 1 2 3 4 5 6
Powerful 1 2 3 4 5 6
Strong 1 2 3 4 5 6
Educated 1 2 3 4 5 6

Answer each question by circling the response that is closest to your impression.

1.What age group would you estimate the speaker belongs to?
 (a) 18 - 25 (b) 26 - 35 (c) 36 - 45 (d) 46 - 55 (e) 56 - 65 (f) 65+
 
2.What is this person's ethnicity?
 (a) New Zealand European (b) American (c) New Zealand Maori
 (d) Canadian (e) Asian (f) English (g) Australian European
 (h) South African (i) Australian Aborigine (j) Black American
 (k) Scottish (k) Other European
 
3.The person's educational level is:
 (a) grade school (b) high school (c) community college
 (d) undergraduate degree (e) graduate, professional degree
 
4.What kind of occupational area would you expect to find this person in?
 (a) unskilled labourer, e.g., fast-food employee
 (b) skilled labourer, e.g., machine operator
 (c) clerical worker, e.g., bookkeeper
 (d) manager e.g., business executive
 (e) professional, e.g., lawyer
 
5.The person's likely annual income is:
 (a) less than $20,000 (b) $21,000 -30,000 (c) $31,000 - 40,000
 (d) $41,000 - 50,000 (e) $50,000 - 60,000 (f) $61,000+
 
6.In what social class would you categorize the speaker?
  1 2 3 4 5
  lower
class
lower-middle
class
middle
class
upper-middle
class
upper
class