| Summary: | The purpose of this study is to broaden our understanding of the attitudes Swedish university students hold towards RP and GA. Although several studies have been conducted on the topic, none have sought to describe the three components traditionally assumed in the mentalist approach to language attitudes. The present study aims to bridge this gap. This was done by investigating students at Stockholm university using the verbal guise method. The present study found that students of Stockholm university with English as their L2 think that RP sounds more arrogant and boring, but also more responsible, gentle and intelligent than GA. The investigated population also felt more irritation while listening to RP than GA. They also felt more trust and liking for speakers of GA than of RP. Lastly, there were also differences regarding the accent the investigated population perceives it uses. GA was heavily favored in this respect. The findings of the present study could help to solve educational issues such as finding which English accents are suitable or most suitable for teaching.
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