We cannot strictly compare Giles and Bourhis' papers on voice and racial categorization with the USA studies, because of racial set in the latter. The essential research issue addressed by Giles and Bourhis requires comparison of the relative Black and White identifiability.
Future research is suggested on neglected sources of error in sociolinguistic judgments.
I see the main point of Giles and Bourhis' papers on voice and racial categorization as reporting evidence for linguistic assimilation to local U.K. White patterns as beyond what American studies indicate. Of more interest than the disagreements over the three experiments is the possible research suggested on neglected sources of error in sociolinguistic judgments. Linguists are probably over-credulous about the power of the trained ear, and those who detected no Black markers in Giles and Bourhis's stimulus tapes were perhaps decied by the speed of the tongue. Robert A.C. Stewart , PhD, Editor Soc. for Personality Research. P.O.Box 1539, Palmerston North 5331, New Zealand.