From Accent to identity

A Pragmatics-Informed Acoustic Analysis of Regional English and Creole Speech Communities

Abstract

This paper integrates software-based acoustic analysis with pragmatic interpretation to
explore the communicative significance of accent variation in regional Englishes and
Creole-related varieties. Building upon a reflective framework that combines phonetic
measurement with sociopragmatic functions, we analyze speech samples from West
Indies English and Cardiff English, using Praat to quantify pitch, vowel formants, and
rhythm. Results demonstrate that accents are not mere deviations from a linguistic
standard, but rather structured systems that carry social meaning and pragmatic force.
Pitch contours in West Indies English, for instance, align with solidarity markers, while
Cardiff English rise–fall patterns convey politeness and stance. By extending this
approach to Creole contexts, the study underscores the role of accent as a systematic,
identity-bearing phenomenon, bridging phonetics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics.
Implications span language pedagogy, forensic linguistics, and intercultural
communication, offering a replicable model for cross-linguistic analysis.