Speaker Accent Modulates the Effects of Orthographic and Phonological Similarity on Auditory Processing by Learners of English
Date
2022Author
Frances, Candice
Navarra-Barindelli, Eugenia
Martin, Clara D.
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Frances C, Navarra-Barindelli E and Martin CD (2022) Speaker Accent Modulates the Effects of Orthographic and Phonological Similarity on Auditory Processing by Learners of English. Front. Psychol. 13:892822. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.892822
Frontiers in Psychology
Frontiers in Psychology
Abstract
The cognate effect refers to translation equivalents with similar form between
languages—i.e., cognates, such as “band” (English) and “banda” (Spanish)—being
processed faster than words with dissimilar forms—such as, “cloud” and “nube.”
Substantive literature supports this claim, but is mostly based on orthographic similarity
and tested in the visual modality. In a previous study, we found an inhibitory orthographic
similarity effect in the auditory modality—i.e., greater orthographic similarity led to slower
response times and reduced accuracy. The aim of the present study is to explain
this effect. In doing so, we explore the role of the speaker’s accent in auditory word
recognition and whether native accents lead to a mismatch between the participants’
phonological representation and the stimulus. Participants carried out a lexical decision
task and a typing task in which they spelled out the word they heard. Words were
produced by two speakers: one with a native English accent (Standard American) and the
other with a non-native accent matching that of the participants (native Spanish speaker
from Spain). We manipulated orthographic and phonological similarity orthogonally and
found that accent did have some effect on both response time and accuracy as well as
modulating the effects of similarity. Overall, the non-native accent improved performance,
but it did not fully explain why high orthographic similarity items show an inhibitory effect
in the auditory modality. Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed.