Accent as a factor of differentiation in a pluralistic society

Marc André Bodet, Professor, Université Laval

Abstract. There exists substantial research on the impact of various characteristics on the definition of national identity. Factors such as skin color and other phenotypical characteristics associated with race and ethnicity have played a central role along cultural and religious symbols. Language acquisition has also been a strong indicator of integration. In this article, we focus on an understudied area that often signals otherness, namely the importance of accent as a factor of differentiation. We focus on the impact of standard versus nonstandard accents, alone and in combination with ethnic cues. Making use of a preregistered online experiment conducted in the Canadian province of Québec, we randomize the ethnicity and accent of a person making a political statement and test whether these two characteristics are associated with differentiated evaluations of two types of statements about diversity (one more intercultural and one more multicultural), as well as assessments of the speaker’s belonging to the majority group.

Part of the Communication and Politics Group speakers series.