Effects of Phonetic Name Anglicization by L2 English Speakers on Evaluative and Persuasive Outcomes.

Abstract

A person’s name pronunciation carries implications about the name’s owner and affects how others see him or her. This name pronunciation effect (NPE) is characteristic of non-native English speakers using English as a lingua franca, who often anglicize their names to avoid bias and appearing foreign. The present study investigated phonetic name anglicization, hypothesizing it would improve evaluation and persuasion outcomes, especially when name pronunciation was congruent with other message elements. In an online experiment, 162 participants listened to two speakers using anglicized or indigenous name pronunciations to promote global or local causes. Participants’ donate intentions, assessments of the speaker, message persuasiveness, perceived authenticity, and perceived linguistic accommodation were measured. The hypothesized NPE outcomes were non-significant. However, indigenously-pronounced names were perceived as significantly more difficult and speakers evaluation ratings yielded mixed results, suggesting the NPE may be overshadowed by the speaker’s name and accent, which holds theoretical and practical implications.