Exploring the Effect of Narrators’ Accents in Informational Short Films

Abstract

Advances in technology have made it increasingly easy to receive information via YouTube and short film clips from around the world. This research examines if a foreign accent has a favorable or an unfavorable effect when materials intended to inform are viewed. Undergraduates in the United States watched a short film about a Latino ceremony wherein the narrator spoke with either a Spanish language-influenced accent or an American accent typical of non-bilingual speakers. Mismatching with expectations, the more standard American voice produced higher ratings of the film’s informativeness and of the narrator’s knowledge. On the other hand, as anticipated, the standard accent was easier to understand and produced higher recall. Discussion focuses on factors influencing reactions to accents in informational viewing settings, on applications to real life environments, and on approaches to issues related to foreign sounding speech.