Accent evaluation and the perception of spoken threats

Although we may consider the existence of a ‘threatening tone of voice’, there is little empirical evidence on what, if any, aspects of speech can make somebody sound threatening. This study presents an exploratory examination of whether or not a speaker's accent can affect how threatening they are perceived to be. Participants provided evaluative responses to a series of direct and indirect threats recorded in three British English accent guises: Received Pronunciation, London Cockney and Northern Irish. The results showed that the non-standard London Cockney accent was rated as sounding significantly more threatening than the RP and Northern Irish guises in the indirect threat condition. Trends in the data also support the assertions that stereotypes about certain accents and threat types can change over time in response to changing world dynamics, with a bomb threat in a Northern Irish accent evaluated as being more threatening by older listeners compared to younger listeners. The London Cockney accent was also rated as being less threatening in the indirect condition by listeners from the South of England compared to those from the North, suggesting that listener geographical background could further influence evaluations of threats. The results highlight a potential issue for the legal system if evaluative judgements about a speaker’s accent can influence listener perceptions of potential language crimes.