Assessment and application of the revised speech dialect attitudinal scale

Abstract

In a series of seven experiments, audience members employed the Speech Dialect Attitudinal Scale (SDAS) in its revised, 12‐item form to rate speakers presented via several media. Speakers were selected for their differences in dialectal variates. Evidence of construct validity was provided by factor analyses, yielding a remarkably consistent three‐factor solution: Socio‐Intellectual Status, Aesthetic Quality, and Dynamism. Concurrent validity was supported by results from analysis of variance and covariance on SDAS dimension scores, which in every experiment discriminated among speakers of differing dialectal characteristics.