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Part of
Pragmatics of Accents
Edited by Gaëlle Planchenault and Livia Poljak
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 327] 2021
► pp. 163–186

English-language attitudes and identities in Spain

Accent variation and the negotiation of possible selves

| Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom

Language attitude research has increasingly focused on English-language learners’ evaluations of various accents and their ability to recognise them. However, little academic attention has been paid to the links between language attitudes and use, or language attitudes and identities. Contextualised within two Spanish universities, this chapter explores learners’ English-mediated identities via questionnaires and interviews, and the ways in which they negotiate possible selves within paired interactions. Quantitative data suggest that attitudes can predict use to some extent, but qualitative data provide much deeper insights into the negotiation of identity using rich sociolinguistic repertoires. The chapter concludes with some reflections on the nature of the relationship between language attitudes, language use and second-language identities.

Keywords: accent, attitude, identity, theory of planned behaviour, Received Pronunciation, General American, English, Spain
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical background: Attitudes and identities in L2 learning
    • Attitude-behaviour relations in language
    • L2 learner identities
    • Language ideologies in Spain
  • 3.Methods and procedures
  • 4.Findings on attitude-behaviour relations in language
  • 5.Findings on identity and the negotiation of possible selves
    • Ana and Bernardo: The ought-to self and the search for authenticity
    • Carmen and Dani: Sounding well-polished, sounding like a native speaker
    • Enrique and Fernando: Normative conformity and the lack of a linguistic ideal self
  • 6.Conclusions and reflections
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 11 October 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.327.07car
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