Malaysian University Students’Attitudes towards Six Varieties of Accented Speech in English

Oct 15, 2026

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English accent perception varies across countries, yet Malaysia lacks clarity on which accents Malaysian learners of English evaluate most positively. Using the verbal-guise technique and an accent-recognition item, the study collected responses from 120 Malaysian university students across multiple speech-accent situations. Two questions were examined: students’ attitudes to native and non-native accents and their familiarity with accents. Results show bias toward in-group accents and distinguishability between native and non-native accents, with some confusion between British and American accents.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Attitudes toward Language and Accent

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 5 No. 5; October 2014 Copyright © Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Malaysian University Students’Attitudes towards Six Varieties of Accented Speech in English Zainab Thamer Ahmed Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Email: [thamerzainab@yahoo.com](thamerzainab@yahoo.com) Ain Nadzimah Abdullah (Corresponding author) Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: [ain@fbmk.upm.edu.my](ain@fbmk.upm.edu.my) Chan Swee Heng Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail: [shchan@fbmk.upm.edu.my](shchan@fbmk.upm.edu.my) Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.5p. 181 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.5p.181](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.5p.181) Received: 20/07/2014 Accepted: 08/08/2014 Abstract Previous language attitude studies indicated that in many countries all over the world, English language learners perceived native accents either American or British, more positively than the non-native accents such as the Japanese, Korean, and Austrian accents. However, in Malaysia it is still unclear which accent Malaysian learners of English tend to perceive more positively (Pillai 2009) . The verbal-guise technique and accent recognition item were adopted as indirect and direct instruments in gathering data to obtain data to clarify the inquiry. The sample includes 120 Malaysian university students and they were immersed in several speech accent situations to elicit feedback on their perceptions. Essentially two research questions are addressed: 1) What are Malaysian university students ’ attitudes toward native and non-native English accents? 2) How familiar are students with accents? The results indicated that the students had a bias towards in-group accent, meaning that they evaluated non-native lecturers’ accents more positively. These results supported the ‘social identity theory’ consistent with many previous language attitude studies of this nature. The Malaysian students were seen to be able to distinguish between native and non-native accents although there was much confusion between British and American accents. Keywords: Accent; Attitudes; English Language Learners; Native; Non-Native Speakers. 1. Introduction In Malaysia, different varieties of English accents are spoken because Malaysia is a multilingual and a multiethnic country. According to Pillai (2008)“English in Malaysia is spoken in a multitude of accents characterizing different ethnic and socio-economic groups, education, language and geographical backgrounds (e.g. East and West Malaysia)”(p.42) . Moreover, English accents in Malaysia can be varied or scaled from marked and heavily marked, “Acromesolect”, and “Mesolect” to less marked “Acrolect” accents because of the linguistic diversity, the different social classes, and the different levels of education (Gill, 1999) . Similarly, Gill (2002) noted that “there is a continuum of accents in Malaysia ranging from more “unmarked” accents to strongly “marked” ethnic accents (p.64) . In the case of Malaysians, they tend to accent-switch depending on the context. According to Pillai (2008) it is also not unusual for Malaysians to accent-switch according to context which may be to construct a national identity, to express sense of belonging, solidarity, intimacy, and sometimes to make other people understand what they are trying to say, especially foreigners (p.42) . In Malaysian universities, different English accents are being spoken by different lecturers such as Malay, MalaysianChinese, and Malaysian-Indian. In addition, foreign lecturers are employed by universities and they speak English with different accents. As a result, students contend with both local and foreign

FAQs

How was data collected about accent perceptions in this study?

The study used the verbal-guise technique and an accent recognition item as indirect and direct instruments to gather students’ responses.

What research questions did the study address?

It asked what Malaysian university students’ attitudes are toward native and non-native English accents, and how familiar students are with accents.

What did the results show about students’ attitudes?

Students showed a bias toward in-group accent evaluations, judging non-native lecturers’ accents more positively, and they could distinguish native from non-native accents with some confusion between British and American accents.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher