socioling : m . vd haagen , caught between norms : american or british > from holland academic graphics : the english pronunciation of dutch learners caught between norms monique van der haagen this book aims to show to what extent this is true that the english pronunciation of young dutch speakers sounds more and more american . it reports on the english pronunciation of 204 secondary school pupils in amsterdam , groningen , venlo and nijmegen . in addition , it investigates what character traits these pupils associate with male and female speakers of british and american english . this was done by means of a listening test in which the pupils judged a total of twelve speakers of both varieties on a number of such traits . finally , it attempts to relate the pupils ' pronunciation to the results of attitude as well as preference tests . the production data reveal that in free speech 40 % of the occurrences of the variables investigated show an american pronunciation . the preference test shows that the pupils regard british english as the norm , but that there is a shift in preference towards american english for most of the variables . the attitude test showed that americans and britons were considered equal in social status , but americans are considered more dynamic , especially female speakers . there was a considerable difference between learners from different educational levels , and between learners from different geographical areas , but , contrary to the usual sociolinguistic finding , there was no difference between male and female subjects in any of the tests . contents : 1 . introduction 2 . method 3 . pronunciation 4 . attitudes 5 . recognition and preference 6 . conclusion 1998 . viii + 138 pp . isbn : 90 5569 055 4 . paperback . [ lot international series 12 . cls / nijmegen university dissertation . ] price for individuals ordering directly from the publisher : nlg 29 . 60 . holland academic graphics < http : / / www . hagpub . com > po box 53292 2505 ag the hague the netherlands fax : + 31 70 448 0177