Social Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Native Speaker Evaluations of Non-Native Speech

Research concerning native speaker reactions to the speech of language learners has generally flowed from an interpersonal perspective (i.e. speaker/listener). On the other hand, the broader social psychological domain of language attitude research has typically been based on an intergroup perspective (i.e. ingroup/outgroup). The two perspectives are elaborated here and shown to provide complementary interpretations of evaluations of non-native speech. From the intergroup viewpoint, evaluations are based upon two processes: identification of the speaker's social group attributes and group-based inferences. The particularly complex role of identification for non-native speakers is discussed in detail. Within the interpersonal sphere, inferences regarding speaker competence and generalized negative affect are emphasized.