“My name is…”: Accented ethnic minorities’ name choice for impression management

Abstract

The accent stigma places accented non-native English speakers at unfair disadvantages in the US. It has not yet been examined how speakers’ name affect listeners’ perception. In reality, however, listeners often learn the speaker’s name and accentedness simultaneously, and likely use them both in forming impressions of the speaker. This study examined the effects of accents and names on Asian speakers’ meta-perceptions (Study 1, N = 104) and Asian and Caucasian listeners’ perceptions (Study 2, N = 116) during interaction. Results indicated that (i) accents have a significant effect on accented speakers’ meta-perceptions as well as on listeners’ perceptions, and (ii) names do influence listeners’ reactions to accented speakers. Limitations of the study and direction for future research are discussed.