Paper Contents
Abstract
This study looked into the cognitive and social factors that contribute to Pakistani university studentsfavorable responses to English with foreign accents. The purpose of the study was to investigate how perceptions of education, self-assurance, and social identity are impacted by foreign accents. A mixed-methods strategy was used. A Likert-scale questionnaire with 100 participants (50 men and 50 women) and open-ended interviews with 20 individuals (10 men and 10 women) were used to gather data. The Social Identity Theory served as the theoretical framework for the thematic analysis of the interview replies, while descriptive statistics (means, SD, and percentages) were used to analyze the questionnaire data. The results showed that the majority of participants had favorable opinions of foreign accents and associated them with professionalism, modernity, and prestige. However, while some participants expressed neutral or context-based opinions, prioritizing authenticity and clarity over imitation, others thought that foreign accents were unneeded or false. The study came to the overall conclusion that while foreign accents are socially prestigious in Pakistan, they nevertheless coexist with a cultural demand for genuine, unambiguous communication.
Copyright
Copyright © 2025 Wafa Razzaq, Athar Abbas, Sana Riaz, Muqaddar Zaka, Laila Sohail . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
