Measuring Language Attitudes: The Speech Evaluation Instrument

Abstract

This paper describes investigations in the measurement of listeners' evaluations of spoken language. Lack of integration in research in this area has been due in part to the numerous measurement instruments used to assess such evaluative reactions. The paper reviews the development of past instruments, describes the design, analysis, and implementation of an omnibus measure, the Speech Evaluation Instrument (SEI), and interprets these findings in light of past research. The use of the SEI is recommended to researchers as a way to make findings of various studies more comparable. Although the development of the SEI was based on evaluation of linguistic diversity, its applicability to a wider range of speech phenomena is suggested.