Accent and lexical diversity as determinants of impression formation and perceived employment suitability

Giles, Howard; Wilson, Pamela; Conway, Anthony

doi:10.1016/s0388-0001(81)80015-0

Cited by 84 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…(an English accent prototypical of the upper class; see Roach, 2004) were rated higher on employability than those with regional British accents (Giles et al, 1981).…”

Section: The Relationship Between Accent and Employabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of foreign accent on employability: a study of the aural dimensions of aesthetic labour in customer-facing and non-customer-facing jobs

Timming

2016

Work, Employment and Society

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Acknowledgements: I want to thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for very helpful comments. I also want to thank Dr Yuni Kim for her help. The results suggest that the managerial respondents actively discriminate in telephone-based job interviews against applicants speaking Chinese-, Mexican-and Indian-accented English, and all three are rated higher in non-customer-facing jobs than in customer-facing jobs. Job applicants who speak British-accented English, especially men, fair as well as, and at times better than, native candidates who speak American English. The paper makes a contribution to the sociological literatures surrounding aesthetic labour and discrimination and prejudice against migrant workers.

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“…(an English accent prototypical of the upper class; see Roach, 2004) were rated higher on employability than those with regional British accents (Giles et al, 1981).…”

Section: The Relationship Between Accent and Employabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of foreign accent on employability: a study of the aural dimensions of aesthetic labour in customer-facing and non-customer-facing jobs

Timming

2016

Work, Employment and Society

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“…Consistent with the above argument by Stone-Romero and Stone (2007), research shows that overall, applicants with the accent of a dominant group in society are judged to be suited for high status jobs, whereas applicants with foreign accents are viewed as appropriate for low status jobs (Giles, et al, 1981;Kalin, 1982;Ryan, et al, 1984). For example, Standard American English-accented applicants were more likely to be hired for a supervisor position, whereas Spanish-accented Mexican American applicants were more likely to be hired for a semi-skilled position (De la Zerda & Hopper, 1979).…”

Section: The Effects Of Foreign Accents On Employment-related Decisionsmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…As a result of the perceived negative discrepancy between the VSIs and the ASIs of minorities, these members are often perceived as unsuitable for high status jobs. On the other hand, they may be perceived as more suitable for low status jobs as previous research has shown (Giles, Wilson, & Conway, 1981;Kalin, 1982;Ryan, Hewstone, & Giles, 1984). Thus, the next section discusses previous research on the effects of foreign accent on employment-related decisions.…”

Section: A Model Of Stigmatization In Organizationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Much of the research on the effects of foreign accents on employment-related decisions has focused on employment suitability, particularly with regard to jobs that varied in status (e.g., Kalin, 1982;Kalin et al, 1980;Giles et al, 1981). However, as mentioned above, these studies have not directly examined the effect of foreign accents on the decision to hire.…”

Section: Strengths Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Employment decisions as a function of an applicant's accent

Nguyen¹,

Hosoda²

2010

PsycEXTRA Dataset

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EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS AS A FUNCTION OF AN APPLICANT'S ACCENT by Lam T. NguyenUsing data collected from 167 college students, the present study examined the effects of an applicant's accent (Standard American English vs. Spanish) on employment-related decisions (i.e., job suitability, likelihood of promotion, and decision to hire) and perceived applicant characteristics (i.e., competence and likability). Results showed that Spanish-accented applicants were rated less suitable for an entry-level software engineering job, were perceived as having a lower chance of being promoted to a managerial position, and were hired less frequently compared to the Standard American English-accented applicant. Additionally, the Spanish-accented applicant was rated less competent but just as likable as the Standard American English-accented applicant.Interestingly, ethnicity of the participants had no effect on the evaluation and perceptions of the Standard American English-accented or Spanish-accented applicants. The results of the study indicate that accent could serve as a basis for stigma, and consequently, foreign-accented applicants might suffer a number of negative consequences.Implications of the results are discussed. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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“…Some research has been done on the field of attitudes towards language and speech variation (Ryan & Giles, 1982), most of which does not directly concern the discrimination topic, but there are some instructive results showing the social judging process which may lead to discrimination. In a study about language variation and job suitability, Giles, Wilson, and Conway (1981) found that low-status jobs were seen as more suitable for individuals with a nonstandard accent (in English). Standard as opposed to nonstandard speakers were rated more suitable for positions of higher (clerical, executive, professional) status.…”

Section: Discriminating As Speech Actingmentioning

confidence: 99%