Intelligibility, accentedness, and comprehensibility of different English accents in Turkish context

Native-like accents or foreign accent concepts are also very popular in the Turkish context, as most of the speakers tend to have foreign accents, possess a foreign accent, and indicate their first language through a transfer of sound and intonation. Also, prior studies in Türkiye suggest that the Turkish foreign accent is generally viewed more negatively than native accents. However, there is a lack of clear evidence on whether these negative perceptions are attributed to the intelligibility, comprehensibility, or accentedness of TFA. This study investigated the intelligibility and comprehensibility of the Turkish foreign accent and explored its connection to accentedness by comparing it with native accents for Turkish EFL listeners. The study was done with 30 Turkish EFL students with similar backgrounds at a foundational university in Ankara. In accordance with the aim, this study was done using a mixed-method design to have a coherent and well-defined analysis of the collected data. There were two tasks for the numerical data and a semi-structured interview in order to have a better understanding of the participants' ideas and as well as the accentedness concept. The data was collected through participants listening to three recordings from three different accents during the tasks and having an interview afterwards. Pearson correlation was used for the correlation between the intelligibility task and a comprehensibility scale, whereas a thematic analysis was done for the semi-structured interview. According to quantitative studies, the correlation between intelligibility and comprehensibility was found to be more on TFA compared to native accents. In order, the Turkish foreign accent was higher than the American accent, and the British accent was the least for both in intelligibility and comprehensibility. However, in terms of intelligibility, AA and TFA were found to have similar levels of intelligibility, with the TFA demonstrating a slightly higher degree. Also, it was found that most of the participants favored the TFA and did not have a problem understanding it. The familiarity with the Turkish foreign accent had a significantly positive influence on the participants. Only a few participants were disturbed by the Turkish foreign accent, and the reason for this issue was social attractiveness and competence rather than understandability of Turkish foreign accent. In that sense, pronunciation, intonation, and stress issues could be taught to all learners more explicitly, and Turkish foreign teachers could be preferred more in the educational setting since these findings highlight the importance of intelligibility and comprehensibility in pronunciation instruction. Lastly, it is possible to suggest that a native-like accent may not be a crucial point in the Turkish context and having all the stakeholders face different accents from all over the world is needed.