Foreign accent in voice discrimination: a case study

Abstract

This article describes the phonetic analysis of a case of speaker identification involving a foreign accent. A taped telephone message in English with a Cantonese accent resulted in the arrest of Lo, a Cantonese speaker. The investigation compared the voice on the tape with that of Lo, particularly noting the accent in English. In several places, close auditory examination showed that Lo had a stronger accent in English than that of the voice on the tape. Acoustic analysis corroborated this view. The theoretical point underlying the conclusion is that non-native speakers can imitate a stronger accent than they normally use, but not a weaker accent.