Language Effect on Impressions of Competence and Likability

Abstract

In our global village world, the United States, despite having the most linguistic diversity on the Earth, uses English in daily dealings as it is the accepted ideal. Although English is not recognized as an official language in the nation, the literature shows that negative stereotypes are attached to individuals with accented English. This study found that even when some languages’ actual words could not be determined, not only did the different languages affect how participants rated a multilingual speaker’s perceived competence and likability, but these ratings also differed based on country of origin of the participants.