DESCRIPCIÓN DE LAS CARACTERÍSTICAS GENERALES

As the spread of English leads to a growing number of NNSs as well as non-native varieties of English, this section endeavours to examine the principal findings of how NNSs perceive different English varieties. The review of NNSs’ attitudes towards varieties of English are discussed according to the following two key findings: (1) standard varieties of English are perceived as prestigious by NNSs, and (2) NNSs tend to view non-standard varieties of English as socially attractive. The literature on NNSs’ attitudes towards varieties of English is vast; however, the aim of the review will be to focus on research with reference to the Taiwanese context.

2.5.3.1 Perceptions of Standard Varieties of English as Prestigious by NNSs The overall findings arising from language attitude studies of NNSs indicate that, just as with native speakers, standard IC varieties are usually evaluated more positively than the non-standard ones on the status continuum. In terms of social prestige, standard IC varieties such as General American English (e.g., Gibb, 1999; Friedrich, 2000; 2003; Cargile et al., 2006; Butler, 2007; Cheng, 2009; Liou, 2010; Zhang, 2010; Kobayashi, 2012; Lee, 2013; Yang, 2013), RP (e.g., Dalton-Puffer et al., 1997; Ladegaard, 1998; Jarvella et al., 2001; Ladegaard and Sachdev, 2006; Kim, 2007; Yook and Lindemann, 2013) and cultivated Australian English12 _(e.g.,

Moloney, 2009) generally receive more favourable evaluations than the less- standard varieties of African American Vernacular English (e.g., Cargile et al., 2006), British Cockney English (e.g., Ladegaard, 1998), Glasgow Vernacular (e.g., McKenzie, 2006), British Tyneside English (e.g., Zhang, 2010), as well as General Australian English (e.g., Ladegaard, 1998; Moloney, 2009) and Broad Australian English (e.g., Moloney, 2009).

NNSs’ positive attitudes towards standard IC English varieties of RP and GAE are likely to derive from educational and media exposure. For example, the RP accent, which is often employed as a learning model of English language for NNSs in Europe (e.g., Dalton-Puffer et al., 1997; Ladegaard, 1998; Jarvella et al., 2001; Ladegaard and Sachdev, 2006) and in Asia (e.g., Chiba et al., 1995; Kachru, 2005; Moloney, 2009), accounts for their preferential attitudes towards this variety of British English. In an in-depth VGT study to examine Japanese university students’ attitudes towards six varieties of English, McKenzie (2008a: 75) postulated that the competence hierarchy wherein speakers of US English are preferred, followed by speakers of UK varieties and then Japanese speakers of English, might result from the “media-transmitted stereotypes” which had induced NNSs’ ideological preferences towards standard varieties. NNSs’ preference for the standard mainstream IC English varieties such as General American English over non-native varieties is particularly evident from the perspective of English language learning and teaching (e.g., Timmis, 2002; Jenkins, 2007).

12 Cultivated Australian English is an approximation of Britain’s Received Pronunciation (Moore,

2008 cited in Moloney (2009:57). See Moloney (2009:56) for the classification of three major varieties of the Australian English made by Mitchell and Delbridge (1965).

The other main finding of NNSs language attitude studies is that IC English speech such as General American English and standard British English are usually preferred over non-native varieties including Austrian English (Dalton-Puffer et al., 1997), Indian English (e.g., Jenkins, 2007; Kim, 2007; Matsuda, 2000), Hong Kong English (e.g., Forde, 1995; Zhang, 2010), Singaporean English (e.g., Jenkins, 2007; Matsuda, 2000), Philippines English (e.g., Kobayashi, 2008), Japanese English (e.g., Chiba et al., 1995; McKenzie, 2010), Korean English (e.g., Kim, 2007) and Taiwanese English (e.g., Kim, 2007; Cheng, 2009; Lee, 2013; Yang, 2013).

NNSs’ positive perceptions of native accents and negative stereotypes about non- native ones are largely to do with native speaker ideology and standard language ideology (Jenkins, 2007). In other words, NNSs generally see “correctness” as the most important criterion in judging varieties of English, which explains why a number of NNSs varieties that deviate from the native speaker norms are likely to be regarded as incorrect and are stigmatised (Jenkins, 2007:182). As an illustration, Matsuda (2000:123) showed that Japanese EFL speakers perceived American English as the sole “authentic” variety. Additionally, the “high vitality of American culture” across the world also contributes to NNSs’ endorsement of the IC variety of American English as being trendy and cool when compared to non-native English speech (e.g., Ladegaard and Sachdev, 2006:104).

2.5.3.2 Perceptions of Non-Standard Varieties of English as Socially Attractive by NNSs

As discussed, non-standard varieties are generally considered more socially attractive than standard IC varieties (e.g., Chiba et al., 1995; Ladegaard, 1998; Cargile et al., 2006; Ladegaard and Sachdev, 2006; McKenzie, 2008a; Zhang, 2010). This suggests that non-standard English speech tends to receive a more positive evaluation across solidarity traits when in-group identity is considered (e.g., Chiba et al., 1995; McKenzie, 2008a).

A case in point is the finding that RP is evaluated negatively on the social attractiveness dimension despite being evaluated highly across the dimensions of status, competence and linguistic superiority (Ladegaard, 1998). Additionally, Danish NNSs were found to favour Scottish English for friendliness and helpfulness

on the social attractiveness scale (e.g., Ladegaard, 1998; Ladegaard and Sachdev, 2006). In the context of the USA, Cargile et al. (2006) found that although the speech of the female African American Vernacular English participant was stigmatised on the status dimension, it was perceived as socially more attractive than that of the male speaker of the standard variety of mainstream US English. In Asia, despite the finding that standard American English was perceived as prestigious, a sample of 44 Hong Kong university students evaluated the non- native variety of educated Hong Kong English more positively where solidarity is concerned. Similarly, although non-standard IC English varieties such as Glasgow vernacular English was judged low across competence-related traits, it was evaluated by Japanese university students as the friendliest variety on the social attractiveness dimension (McKenzie, 2008a). Moreover, Japanese listeners value their own variety of heavily accented Japanese English as the most socially attractive variety, regardless of it being downgraded for competence (ibid). McKenzie (2008a) explained that the role of in-group identity contributes to Japanese university students’ preference for Japanese English, where social integrity is concerned.

2.5.3.3 Summary

It can be summarised that the NNSs of the OC and the EC prefer the standard or mainstream IC speech of American and British English over non-native varieties when social status is considered, while non-standard IC English varieties or non- native English speech are sometimes upgraded on the solidarity scale.