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Volume 11, Issue 2
  • ISSN 2215-1931
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Abstract

This study investigates the intelligibility and comprehensibility of French-accented speech in an academic context. L1 French and L1 English listeners heard speech samples in three different accent conditions: a marked French accent, an unmarked French accent and a Southern British English (SBE) accent. They were asked to perform two word recognition tasks, a speech comprehension task and provided subjective ratings of certainty, comprehensibility, cognitive load and accentedness. Results showed that for English listeners sharing the same first language (L1) had a facilitating effect, whereas varying the levels of French-accentedness had a detrimental effect. French listeners, however, did not find French-accented speech significantly more intelligible and comprehensible than SBE-accented speech. These findings deepen our knowledge of the relationship between intelligibility, comprehensibility, accentedness and cognitive load.

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2025-08-18
2026-05-12

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/content/journals/10.1075/jslp.25010.oca
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The intelligibility and comprehensibility of French-accented English in an academic context
Journal of Second Language Pronunciation 11, 267 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1075/jslp.25010.oca
/content/journals/10.1075/jslp.25010.oca
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): comprehensibility; intelligibility; interphonology; L2 English; speech perception

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