Accents and Attitudes. Investigating the Heritage Accent: Insights from Bilingual Heritage Speakers of Russian in Finland

Abstract

The current study investigates the “heritage accent” in 24 bilingual heritage speakers of Russian in Finland as well as the attitudes of heritage speakers towards accents. A foreign accent rating study was conducted to assess the phonetic production in three groups of heritage speakers: late bilinguals, early sequential bilinguals, and simultaneous bilinguals. 20 raters judged the accent and described perceived non-native features. Results show a wide range of individual variation in phonetic production in both languages. The majority of simultaneous bilinguals were reported to have an accent in Russian, while early sequential and late bilinguals were perceived as being close to Russian native speakers. The perceivable accent was detected in the dominant Finnish language in all three groups. However, despite the existence of the “non-native” accent in Russian and Finnish, it was reported to be minor or “weak”. The study also provides evidence on heritage speakers’ attitudes towards foreign accents.