Research Summary
Research Summary
Lingua Franca Use with Professor Tsedal Neeley and Professor Jeff Polzer
Description
In a laboratory setting, we tested the casual effect of an English-only mandate on nonnative speakers' perceptions of status differences vis-à-vis native speakers, and investigated the role of English fluency as a marker of an achieved status in moderating these perceptions. We also explored if and how nonnative speakers' verbal patterns changed under the mandate condition, and how these changes impacted communication implications. Regression analyses showed that the English mandate widened the perceived gap in status between nonnative and native speakers but the effect decreased as fluency increased. In addition, content analyses indicated that nonnative speakers' verbal patterns under the mandate condition differed significantly from the no-mandate condition in such ways that might reduce communication effectiveness.