Foreign Accent in Professional Communication: Empirical Research among Russian-speaking immigrants in Germany

Abstract

The literature review over the past 20 years indicates a particular interest towards foreign accent perception in business environment and reveals biased attitude of natives, whether employers or employees, to non-nativeness in terms of phonological competence in the studied field. While the attitude of natives has been thoroughly researched, immigrants’ opinions might vary and require careful consideration. This study aims to examine to which extent, if any, a foreign accent in the German language affects professional communication of Russian-speaking immigrants living and working in Germany (in fields including IT, finance, healthcare, education, etc.). In total, 108 participants aged 22-62 completed a questionnaire, the primary purpose of which was to explore whether a foreign accent is perceived as a hindrance in business environment. The research included a quantitative analysis of gathered statistical information processed via JASP software, as well as a qualitative analysis of open-ended items. The major finding indicates that for 39.8% of the participants, a foreign accent has no influence on interactions within a business context. According to the results of the questionnaire, 31.5% of the respondents have never found themselves confronted with a problem of not being understood due to a foreign accent. Finally, for more than a half of the surveyed participants, namely 53.7%, their foreign accent had no bearing on the accomplishment of job-related tasks as part of the working process whatsoever.