Replication Data for: Listening to Accents: Comprehensibility, accentedness and intelligibility of native and non-native English speech

Dataset abstract This dataset contains the results from 33 Flemish English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, who were exposed to eight native and non-native accents of English. These participants completed (i) a comprehensibility and accentedness rating task, followed by (ii) an orthographic transcription task. In the first task, listeners were asked to rate eight speakers of English on comprehensibility and accentedness on a nine-point scale (1 = easy to understand/no accent; 9 = hard to understand/strong accent). How Accentedness ratings and listeners' Familiarity with the different accents impacted on their Comprehensibility judgements was measured using a linear mixed-effects model. The orthographic transcription task, then, was used to verify how well listeners actually understood the different accents of English (i.e. intelligibility). To that end, participants' transcription Accuracy was measured as the number of correctly transcribed words and was estimated using a logistic mixed-effects model. Finally, the relation between listeners' self-reported ease of understanding the different speakers (comprehensibility) and their actual understanding of the speakers (intelligibility) was assessed using a linear mixed-effects regression. R code for the data analysis is provided. Article abstract This study investigates how well English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners report understanding (i.e. comprehensibility) and actually understand (i.e. intelligibility) native and non-native accents of English, and how EFL learners’ self-reported ease of understanding and actual understanding of these accents are aligned. Thirty-three Dutch-speaking EFL learners performed a comprehensibility and accentedness judgement task, followed by an orthographic transcription task. The judgement task elicited listeners’ scalar ratings of authentic speech from eight speakers with traditional Inner, Outer and Expanding Circle accents. The transcription task assessed listeners’ actual understanding of 40 sentences produced by the same eight speakers. Speakers with Inner Circle accents were reported to be more comprehensible than speakers with non-Inner Circle accents, with Expanding Circle speakers being easier to understand than Outer Circle speakers. The strength of a speaker’s accent significantly affected listeners’ comprehensibility ratings. Most speakers were highly intelligible, with intelligibility scores ranging between 79% and 95%. Listeners’ self-reported ease of understanding the speakers in our study generally matched their actual understanding of those speakers, but no correlation between comprehensibility and intelligibility was detected. The study foregrounds the effect of native and non-native accents on comprehensibility and intelligibility, and highlights the importance of multidialectal listening skills.

数据集摘要 本数据集包含33名英语作为外语（English as a Foreign Language, EFL）学习者的实验数据，这些参与者接触了8类英语母语与非母语口音。参与者完成了两项任务：(i) 可懂度（comprehensibility）与口音浓重程度（accentedness）评分任务，随后(ii) 正字法转录任务（orthographic transcription task）。在第一项任务中，听众需基于9分制量表（nine-point scale）对8名英语讲话者的可懂度与口音浓重程度进行评分（1分=易于理解/无口音；9分=难以理解/口音浓重）。研究通过线性混合效应模型（linear mixed-effects model）分析了口音浓重程度评分与听众对不同口音的熟悉度如何影响其可懂度判断。后续的正字法转录任务用于验证听众对不同英语口音的实际理解程度（即可理解性（intelligibility））。本研究以参与者转录正确的单词数作为转录准确率指标，并通过逻辑斯蒂混合效应模型（logistic mixed-effects model）对该指标进行估算。最后，通过线性混合效应回归（linear mixed-effects regression）分析了听众自我报告的理解不同讲话者的难易程度（即可懂度（comprehensibility））与实际理解程度（即可理解性（intelligibility））之间的关联。本数据集附带数据分析所用的R代码。

文章摘要 本研究探讨了英语作为外语（EFL）学习者自我报告的理解程度（即可懂度（comprehensibility））与实际理解程度（即可理解性（intelligibility））对英语母语与非母语口音的适配情况，以及EFL学习者自我报告的理解难易度与实际口音理解程度的一致性。33名以荷兰语为母语的EFL学习者完成了可懂度与口音浓重程度判断任务，随后完成正字法转录任务。判断任务要求听众对8名分别带有传统内圈（Inner Circle）、外圈（Outer Circle）与扩展圈（Expanding Circle）口音的真实讲话者的语音进行量表评分。转录任务则评估了听众对上述8名讲话者所录制的40个句子的实际理解程度。研究结果显示，带有内圈口音的讲话者比非内圈口音讲话者的可懂度更高，其中扩展圈口音讲话者的可理解性优于外圈口音讲话者。讲话者的口音浓重程度显著影响听众的可懂度评分。多数讲话者的可理解性得分较高，区间为79%至95%。本研究中听众自我报告的理解难易程度整体与实际理解情况相符，但未检测到可懂度与可理解性之间存在相关性。本研究揭示了母语与非母语口音对可懂度与可理解性的影响，并强调了多方言听力技能的重要性。