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This is: English as a dominant language in the movement: challenges and solutions, published by Dobroslawa_Gogloza on the Effective Altruism Forum.
Many of the problems we are facing are global, so the social movements that we have to create in response to them must also be global. To facilitate cooperation within any movement, we also need a common language. It is very good that we have a language that makes it easy for activists from different parts of the world to share information, learn from each other and plan strategies together. However, we must also be aware that the use of a single language of communication has certain consequences for the dynamics and power structures of our social movement.
There are many studies that analyze differences in the perception of native-speakers of a language compared to a second language or foreign language speakers. The results are very worrying. One observation is that people for whom a common language is their mother tongue, especially those whose pronunciation has the most prestigious accent, “are automatically in a position of strength compared to those who need to learn it as a second or foreign language”. A standard accent — like the ones normally shown in the media — is automatically associated with higher education and higher economic status. It is also worth noting that it’s practically impossible to lose an accent completely when speaking a foreign language.
Some other observations from scientists studying the evaluation of people speaking with a non-standard accent:
Non-standard speakers are usually perceived as less competent, less intelligent and less trustworthy.
If you are not very proficient in English as a foreign language, you will feel anxious and inhibited when you need to communicate in English.
Non-native speakers avoid expressing their opinions at meetings for fear of being perceived as incompetent.
Some experiments suggest that a non-standard accent contributes to discrimination or being perceived negatively, even more than having a different skin color.
The same arguments put forward by a person with a standard accent are assessed as being of better quality.
In one study, most of the non-standard speakers were convinced that they would be more respected if they spoke a standard accent and one-third of them reported experiencing discrimination based on their accent.
The accents are not equal. While most people who speak with a foreign accent are assessed negatively, some experiments have shown that people with a Western European accent are perceived rather positively. Especially German-accented speakers are sometimes seen as more organized and intelligent.
People who speak English as a foreign language feel more comfortable speaking English with other people who speak it as a foreign language since they do not feel constantly assessed.
Communication with other non-standard speakers can be more important in creating a platform for understanding each other than cultural differences between the interlocutors.
When native speakers are difficult to understand, it does not affect their status. When a non-native speaker is hard to understand, it affects the perception of them as less professional.
To quote a meta-analysis of various studies on the perception of people who are not native speakers:
Across rating dimensions, speakers who use a standard accent are rated more positively than those using a non-standard accent, almost a full standard deviation higher. This effect may have considerable consequences for those speakers being evaluated. For the standard speaker, it represents a huge advantage, and for the non-standard speaker, it represents nothing less than a considerable handicap. The reader should consider the fact that evaluations have been shown to be shaped by single words, such as the speaker saying “hel...
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