Os profissionais da comunicação frequentemente buscam atendimento fonoaudiológico para a suavização de características desprestigiadas em sua fala. Estudos têm apontado a Telessaúde como ferramenta complementar ou alternativa no cuidado das pessoas. Entretanto, é necessário investigar o impacto do uso destas tecnologias na prática clínica e avaliar se as orientações dadas a distância são tão efetivas quanto as orientações presenciais. O objetivo deste estudo é verificar a eficácia de uma oficina na modalidade a distância para suavização de sotaque do arquifonema {R} quando realizado como tepe retroflexo e comparar a abordagem a distância com a presencial. Foram desenvolvidas duas oficinas: Oficina para Suavização de Sotaque a Distância, disponibilizada na Plataforma Virtual Tidia-Ae da Universidade de São Paulo e a Oficina para Suavização de Sotaque Presencial, realizada no Anfiteatro de Fonoaudiologia da Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru da Universidade de São Paulo. Ambas as oficinas foram compostas por dez módulos contendo atividades teóricas e atividades práticas. Participaram das oficinas 23 estudantes/profissionais de Locução/Jornalismo/Rádio e TV, de ambos os sexos e média de idade de 26,87 anos (DP = 7,37). Para avaliação das oficinas, todos os participantes tiveram suas vozes gravadas e responderam a questionários antes e ao final das oficinas. Os resultados do presente estudo indicaram que os participantes de ambas as oficinas obtiveram suavização de sotaque significante após sua participação nas oficinas e que não houve diferença significante entre as duas abordagens de oficina. / The Communication Professionals often seek speech therapy for smoothing discredited characteristics in speech. Studies have pointed Telehealth as a complementary or alternative tool to care people. However, it is necessary investigate the impact of using these technologies in clinical practice and assess whether the guidelines given in telepractice are as effective as face-toface guidance. This study aims verify the effectiveness of a e-learning workshop for smoothing accent at archiphoneme {R} when pronounced as retroflex flap and compare telepractice and face-to-face approach. Two workshops were developed: the \"E-learning Workshop to Smooth Accent\" available for participants in Tidia-Ae Virtual Platform of the University of São Paulo, and the \"Face-to-Face Workshop to Smooth Accent\" held at the Speech Pathologys Amphitheatre at Faculty of Dentistry of Bauru, University of São Paulo. Participated 23 students or professional media workers, regardless of gender and with 26,87 average age (SD = 7,37). Both workshops were composed of ten modules containing theoretical and practical activities. For workshops evaluation, all participants had their voices recorded and they answered questionnaires before and after the workshops. The results of this study pointed significant smoothing accent for participants after their participation in both workshops, and there was no statistical difference between the telepractice and face-to-face approach.

Le but principal de cette analyse est de déterminer si les glides, et par conséquent, les diphtongues, ont ou non un caractère phonologique en portugais brésilien. Nous partirons des analyses qui ont déjà été réalisées dans différents cadres théoriques : Câmara Jr. (1970), dans un cadre structuraliste, Mateus (1982 [1975]) dans la théorie générative linéaire, Silva (1992), Bisol (1989, 1999) et Mateus & D’Andrade (2000) dans la théorie autosegmentale, et deux analyses plus récentes dans le cadre de la théorie de l’optimalité (Martins, 2011, Simioni, 2011), en relevant les avantages et les inconvénients de ces différentes approches, ainsi que les problèmes non encore résolus. Enfin, nous allons proposer, à notre tour, une analyse à la lumière d’un autre cadre théorique pour expliquer la variation entre hiatus et diphtongues, et en conséquence le statut phonologique du glide en portugais : la phonologie « CVCV » ou « strict CV » (Lowenstamm, 1996, Scheer, 2004). Un cadre phonologique sans constituants comme celui-ci permet d’éliminer un des grands problèmes présents dans les autres analyses : celui de savoir si le glide appartient à une attaque, à un noyau branchant ou à une coda. Ce cadre permet de rendre compte d’une façon plus appropriée des contradictions et des problèmes observés dans le traitement des glides et diphtongues en portugais, notamment leur contraintes phonotactiques et leur interaction avec l’accent de mot dans la langue. / The main purpose of this analysis is to determine whether the glides, and therefore, the diphthongs, have or not phonological character in Brazilian Portuguese. We will start from the analyzes that have been conducted in different theoretical frameworks: Câmara Jr. (1970), in a structuralist framework, Mateus (1982 [1975]) in the linear generative theory, Silva (1992), Bisol (1989, 1999) and Mateus & D'Andrade (2000) in the autosegmental theory, and two recent analyzes in the context of the theory of optimality (Martins, 2011 Simioni, 2011), noting the advantages and disadvantages of these different approaches and the unsolved problems. Finally, we propose, in our turn, an analysis in the light of another theoretical framework to explain the variation between hiatus and diphthongs, and therefore the status of phonological glide in Portuguese: the phonology "CVCV" or "strict CV" (Lowenstamm, 1996, Scheer, 2004). A phonological framework without constituents as such eliminates one of the major problems found in other analyzes: to know whether the glide belongs to an onset, a complex nucleus or a coda. It allows us to account more appropriately for contradictions and problems observed in the treatment of glides and diphthongs in Portuguese, including their phonotactic constraints and their interaction with the stress word in the language.

Research in the field of multimedia has yielded principles for the design of effective multimedia instructional messages including Mayer's principles regarding voice. According to the voice principle, students learn more deeply when the narration in a multimedia lesson is spoken by a native voice rather than a non-native voice. The generalizability of the voice principle has been demonstrated when applied to multimedia users who are native speakers of the language used in narration. However, three out of four English users are non-native speakers of English, and the vast majority of verbal exchanges in English do not involve any native speakers of the language at all. By focusing on non-native users, the results of this study should clarify the applicability of the voice principle to a broader target audience. The study investigated whether the accent of the narrator in a multimedia tutorial affected participants' learning and attitudes toward the narrator. The independent variable of the study was narrator's accent with two levels: native accent and non-native shared accent. The dependent variables of the study were participants' learning and their attitudes toward the narrators. Sixty-five Chinese participants at a Midwestern university in the United States were randomly assigned to one of two groups in this experimental design. Data to test the dependent variables were collected through a learning achievement test and an attitude survey. Data analyses revealed that there was no significant difference in overall learning and recall level learning between the two accent groups. However, the group who heard the narration spoken with the native American English accent had significantly more positive attitudes toward their respective narrator than the group who heard the narration spoken with a non-native shared Chinese accent. The study qualifies the voice principle by establishing the limits of its generalizability to non-native English speakers. The study suggests to instructional designers that the use of a non-native shared accent should not affect students' learning negatively although it may affect their attitudes toward the speakers. In addition, the study helps assure non-native instructors that they can record their own voices to use in multimedia instruction as their non-native students will learn as effectively as with a native English accent.

Previous research done in sociophonetic variation of second language speakers has often looked at constraints of formality affecting degree of foreign accent and how this degree of formality can have effects on what speaking styles speakers choose to employ. Furthermore, other social constraints of convergence and divergence of speech affect speaker speaking style. However, no known previous research has examined interdental fricative /θ ð/ substitution based on each speaker's interlocutor. This study explores second language speakers' English interdental fricative substitution sounds in terms of sociophonetic variation of formality and speaker interlocutor(s). Five native language pairs of Arabic, Cantonese, French, Portuguese, and Vietnamese origin were part of the study, comprising ten participants in total. The study finds age of English onset, as verified by the literature, to be the most determining factor for accurate articulation of these marked fricatives. However, other constraints for substitution choice are at hand including phonological limitations and estimated linguistic experience based on demographic information given by survey participants. The primary aim of the study is to associate some of the interdental fricative substitutions with a social variable. Data for the study include recordings of each participant reading a poem by him/herself, a dialogue with the other same native language participant, and a dialogue with a native speaker of American English. The data analysis examined the replacement sounds in terms of native language background, linguistic experience variables, and phonological constraints. In addition, quantities and ratios of specific replacement sounds for each participant per recording and per native language pair were compared and contrasted to find if speech accommodation theory (SAT), as proposed by Giles et al. (1991), played a role in any of the participants' choices for substitution. The study finds both convergence and divergence of interdental fricative substitutions to be characteristic of speakers with less linguistic experience in English. An additional stronger finding is that most participants' most common sound substitutions for the voiced and voiceless interdental fricatives were independent in place and manner, the voiced most commonly replaced by dental and alveolar plosives [ḏ d] and the voiceless most commonly replaced by labiodental fricative [f], which could be an indication of each fricative's acoustic and phonemic representation in each non-native speaker's phonological component, supported by findings of Brannen (2002). Some literature suggests that varying values of [continuant] in speakers' native languages are the means by which speakers choose the replacement sounds they do. However, such an explanation cannot be the only valid one when inherent variability comes into play and different places and manners of articulation are chosen for both interdental fricatives.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:16:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1176317 bytes, checksum: 23bb6112fe0fe9f5c008e95103bb29db (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-12 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This work aims to investigate the role played by accent on the relationship between categorization and discrimination and the psychological mechanism underlying this relation. To this end, three main hypotheses were formulated that guide the execution of four empirical studies. In a scenario of decision-making in recruitment and selection for hiring an employee, four studies were conducted in Portugal. We manipulated candidate s accent, which was Portuguese accent or Brazilian immigrant accent. Then, the participants indicated which applicant should be hired (discrimination measure). Study 1 aims to test the hypothesis that the influence of the categorization of a target by his accent (national vs. immigrant) on discrimination is moderated by prejudice. Seventy-two university students participated in this study (Mage = 21.8, SD = 4.27; 34 male and 37 female), they were randomly allocated to one of two conditions (Portuguese accent vs. Brazilian accent) of a between-subjects unifactorial design. The results showed that the influence of categorization of the target by accent on discrimination is moderated by prejudice, b = .51, t (67) = 2.67, p ˂ .05, η2p = .31, and occur only in more prejudiced participants. Study 2 intended to replicate the previous one and test the hypothesis that the previous tested path is mediated by assessment of candidate s accent, because we believe that the assessment of accent triggers a process of perceives the outgroup member s accent as worst. One hundred and twenty-nine university students participated in this study (Mage = 23.7, SD = 4.83; 60 male and 64 female), they were randomly allocated to one of two conditions, Portuguese accent vs. Brazilian accent. The results reinforce the evidence that categorization of a target assessed by his accent triggers discrimination against this target, and also showed that the influence of categorization by accent on discrimination is mediated by individuals perception of the quality of accent (Z = 2.46, p ˂ .05). Study 3 intended to replicate the previous ones by using a within-subject design and test the alternative hypothesis that the influence of targets categorization on discrimination is due to using stereotypical information. One hundred and five university students participated in this study (Mage = 24.1, SD = 4.37; 58 male and 47 female). The results corroborated our predictions that the influence of categorization by accent on discrimination is moderated by prejudice and mediated only by assessment of accent (Z = 1.98, p ˂ .05). Study 4 seeks to test the hypothesis that the mediation occur because the accent s quality assessment acts as a legitimizing factor of discrimination. Subjects were 27 female and 12 male university students (Mage = 20.5, SD = 3.67), randomly allocated to one of two conditions (justification without mentioned accent vs. justification based on candidate s accent) in a unifactorial between-subjects design. The results showed that the participants judge as more legitimate the condition in it was justified based on accent (M = 4.30, SD = 1.31) than in the other condition (M = 3.25, SD = 1.18), t(35) = -2.54, p ˂ .05. In this sense, the results supports our hypothesis that accent can be legitimate as an argument to justify discrimination. Hence, the implications of these results should be considered as the first step to analyze the role of accent on discrimination. / Esta tese teve como objetivo principal investigar o papel desencadeado pelo sotaque na relação entre categorização e discriminação, bem como especificar o mecanismo psicológico que explica este processo. Para tanto, foram formuladas três hipóteses principais que norteiam a execução de quatro estudos empíricos. Em um cenário de tomada de decisão para contratação de um funcionário foram realizados quatro estudos em Portugal. O sotaque do candidato à vaga foi manipulado, podendo ser o sotaque português ou o sotaque de imigrante brasileiro. Os participantes eram solicitados a informar qual candidato deveria ser contratado (medida de discriminação). O Estudo 1 testou a hipótese de que a influência da categorização de um alvo ativada pelo seu sotaque (nacional vs. imigrante) na discriminação é moderada pelo preconceito. Participaram 71 estudantes universitários com idade média de 21,8 anos (DP = 4,27; 34 homens e 37 mulheres), que foram randomicamente alocados em uma de duas condições experimentais (sotaque de imigrante brasileiro vs. sotaque português). Os resultados indicaram que a relação entre a categorização pelo sotaque e a discriminação é moderada pelo preconceito (b = 0,51, t (67) = 2,67, p ˂ 0,05, η2p = 0,31), de modo que apenas em participantes preconceituosos a categorização pelo sotaque leva à discriminação do imigrante brasileiro. O Estudo 2 buscou replicar o estudo anterior e testar a hipótese de que a relação proposta na hipótese 1 é mediada pela avaliação do sotaque do candidato, pois a avaliação do sotaque desencadeia um processo de perceber o sotaque do membro do grupo externo como pior. Contou-se com a participação de 124 estudantes universitários com idade média de 23,7 anos (DP = 4,83; 60 homens e 64 mulheres), aleatoriamente alocados em uma de duas condições, sotaque português vs. sotaque de imigrante brasileiro. Como previsto, os resultados indicaram que o preconceito modera a influência da categorização pelo sotaque na discriminação. Ademais, os resultados suportam a mediação da avaliação do sotaque nesta relação (Z = 2,46, p ˂ 0,05), corroborando a segunda hipótese. O Estudo 3 buscou replicar o estudo anterior, desta vez, com um delineamento dentre participantes, e testar a hipótese alternativa de que a influência da categorização na discriminação é mediada pelo uso da informação estereotípica. Contou-se com a participação de 105 estudantes universitários com idade média de 24,1 anos (DP = 4,37; 48 homens e 47 mulheres). Como previsto, os resultados indicaram que o preconceito modera a influência da categorização pelo sotaque na discriminação e que apenas a avaliação do sotaque medeia esta relação (Z = 1,98, p ˂ 0,05). O Estudo 4 buscou testar a hipótese de que a mediação ocorre porque a avaliação da qualidade do sotaque atua como um fator legitimador da discriminação. Contou-se com a participação de 39 estudantes universitários com idade média de 20,5 anos (DP = 3,67; 12 homens e 27 mulheres), aleatoriamente alocados em uma de duas condições (sem ou com a justificação pelo sotaque), em um design unifatorial entre participantes. Como previsto, os resultados indicaram que os participantes julgaram como mais legítima a condição em que a justificação ocorre pelo sotaque (M = 4,30, DP = 1,31) do que a outra condição (M = 3,25, DP = 1,18), t(35) = -2,54, p ˂ 0,05. Neste sentido, os resultados desse estudo suportam a hipótese de que o sotaque pode ser legítimo como um argumento para justificar a discriminação. Destarte, as implicações destes resultados devem ser consideradas como o primeiro passo para analisar o papel do sotaque na discriminação.

The aim of this paper is to explore the features that combine to make up the distinctive accent of the actor Sir Sean Connery. This study outlines the subject’s basic vowel system and compares it to data collected on the vowel systems of Received Pronunciation (RP) and Scottish Standard English (SSE) from previous research (Stuart-Smith 1999, Hawkins & Midgely 2005, Fisk 2006). Furthermore, this essay examines the degree to which other elements associated with SSE are present in the subject’s accent. These features include the Scottish Vowel Lengthening Rule (SVLR), the presence of dark /l/, rhoticity and T-glottalling. It is hypothesised that the subject speaks a modified variety of SSE yet retains the aforementioned qualities typically associated with SSE. The speech analysis software programs Wavesurfer (version 1.4.7.) and Praat (version 4.4.33.) were used to analyse sections of sound taken from a speech given by the subject at an awards ceremony. Instrumental analysis of this nature was deemed appropriate in order to establish a high degree of objectivity in this study. Of the wide range of recorded material available the subject’s acceptance speech was judged most suitable for analysis. This is a passage of spontaneous speech as opposed to a movie script, where the subject talks of his background and career. Having analysed the subject’s accent in this way, certain sociolinguistic implications can be drawn. The results suggest that Sir Sean Connery does indeed speak a variety of SSE however rather surprisingly the subject’s accent appears quite typical of his Edinburgh origins. The vowel system not only identifies the subject as an SSE speaker but also indicates traces of his working-class background e.g., the frontal quality to Connery’s realisation of /u/ and his low /I/ are typical of a working-class SSE speaker. Moreover, the general low quality found in Connery’s basic vowel system can be interpreted as revealing a little of his working-class origins. Evidence of the other features associated with SSE was also found in the subject’s accent. Durational evidence indicates (albeit tentatively at this stage) that the SVLR operates within his accent while dark /l/ and t-glottalling were also observed. While it is also apparent that Connery speaks a rhotic variety of English it is the nature and variety of his /r/ production that is most interesting. The subject appears to produce a retroflex realisation of /r/ which affects other consonants in its environment. This /r/ may be indicative of an earlier Irish influence over Connery’s accent. It should be stated that due to the nature and the limited size of this study, all findings are preliminary and more research is needed into this area before any firm conclusions can be drawn.

Swedish speakers of English tend to speak with an accent, but the attitudes toward said accent is unknown. While a few studies have been made regarding listeners' perceptions of their own first language accents, the results varied and did not specifically adress English with a Swedish accent. In the present study of attitudes toward accent, listeners were Swedish, the spoken target language was English, and the speaker was a person in power. Eight informants of Swedish and English language backgrounds watched a video recording of Swedish politician Margot Wallström speaking English with a Swedish accent, after which they were asked questions regarding her accent and their perceptions and attitudes thereof. While the Swedish informants' attitudes were more negative and expressed that Wallström should be able to speak with less Swedish accent, the non-Swedes were more neutral and thought that the accent was expected and acceptable. The results suggest that Swedes have high expectations of their accents when speaking English, which is relevant for English speakers, especially public ones, with Swedish language backgrounds.

This essay investigated Swedish teenagers' attitudes towards Australian and British English accents. The respondents were exposed to four different accents as part of a modified version of the Matched Guise Technique. They were then asked to fill out a questionnaire assessing the accents in terms of psychological qualities, social evaluation, job suitability and likability. The results show that previous research on attitudes to accents in other countries is applicable on Swedish teenagers' and that stereotyping is an influence as well.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the influence of foreign accent on credibility of non- native speakers of English. The study was inspired by Lev-Ari and Keysar (2010), who observed that native speakers of English are less likely to believe non-native speakers. In our research we used the same set of statements and similar settings of the experiment to find out whether foreign accent will have the same negative effect on credibility of non- native speakers as perceived by non-native listeners. 6 native speakers from Britain and the USA, and 6 non-native speakers recorded the set of trivia statements for the test and 45 non-native listeners rated on a scale whether they thought the statement they hear is true or not. The results were analysed from multiple points of view such as the influence of accent on credibility, the influence of gender on credibility, and we have also analysed the individual speakers and items in the test to see if the results could be influenced by the behaviour of one individual speaker or an item. The results of the experiment revealed that foreign accent has a negative effect on the credibility of non-native speakers as perceived by non-native listeners. Czech respondents rated British accent of English to be the most credible, while people who spoke with a foreign...

The purpose of this study was to examine the implicit language attitudes of college-level instructors toward accented English and the effect of gender, teaching experience, and home language background on those attitudes. The auditory multifactor Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to measure the implicit attitudes toward Standard, Chinese, Hispanic, and Korean accented English. For the current study, audio stimuli were embedded into the multifactor IAT, which became available for the first time in 2014. The auditory multifactor IAT generated implicit preference scores of six pairs of accented English: Standard vs. Chinese, Standard vs. Hispanic, Standard vs. Korean, Chinese vs. Hispanic, Chinese vs. Korean, and Hispanic vs. Korean accented English. Participants (N = 93) included college instructors at an urban university in Florida. Statistical analysis results suggested that college instructors in this study exhibited some bias towards speakers of Hispanic-accented English, but no bias toward the other five. However, analysis of the frequency distributions of the responses showed bi-polar accent biases did exist. It was possible that the similar numbers for the polar opposites balanced each other in the statistical results of no bias. Gender and home language background had no effect on implicit preference scores. The years of teaching experience had significant effect in Hispanic- vs. Korean-accented English, but not in the other five accented language pairs. However, close examination of the beta coefficient per year indicated that the relationship was weak even though the effect was significant. Faculty, administrators, and students could use test results as a topic of discussion in faculty development, teaching assistant training, student services, and diversity training in higher education institutions. The discussions might help awareness of hidden-yet-present accent bias and prevent potential prejudice toward other accented English speakers. The administrators need to be aware that preferences do exist toward accented English speakers. These preferences--or biases--toward an accent may be important in selecting instructors.