DIALECTICAL ASSESSMENT BY THE MATCHED GUISE METHOD

Abstract

Beliefs and behavior towards language are usually uniform in a spoken community which means that they are shared by the members of certain community. Those behaviors, being either positive or negative, are not revealed when the speaker is directly questionned about different dialects. In with the purpose of applying them to the respondents so that they are unaware of the investigation goal.  Among the several indirect assessments, the most known is the matched guise method, proposed by Lambert (2003 [1967]). It consists of presenting the collected data to a group of “referees” (listeners who measure or assess the recorded speakers’ interviews). The recorded interviews consists of speakers reading aloud the same passage of a text. The referees’s duty is to listen to the recordings and measure each speaker’s personal traces, using only the vocal clues and the reading.  This work, based on Linguistic Beliefs and Behaviors Studies, brings the results obtained by means of a questionnaire adapted from the matched guise method, aiming to assess cariocas (from Rio de Janeiro), gauchos (from Rio Grande do Sul) and Northern Parana respondents, regarding their three different linguistic varieties. For the assessment, referees were not informed whether they would listen to different kinds of linguistic varieties or if they were produced by speakers of different dialects as well. One of the varieties represented, in fact, the own referee’s dialect. Forty-eight Maringa dwellers responded to the interview. Thirty-two of them were born in other states (16 cariocas and 16 gauchos). Results showed positive assessment related to gauchos, signaling to a preference for that dialect. As to carioca’s dialect, the assessment was also positive and close to the gauchos’, only 2% percentage difference.  As to Northern Parana speakers, however, results showed negative assessment, signaling to rejection or prejudice towards the speaking group.