Órale!
How Country-Specific Accents Limit the Effectiveness of Spanish-Language Campaign Appeals in the United States
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24239104 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alejandro Frydman (0000-0002-7904-5046, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), A N Flores (0000-0002-4631-1694, University of Maryland, College Park, MD) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-17 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-19 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Race Ethnicity and Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2056-6085 • E-ISSN: 2056-6085 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/rep.2026.10103 |
| OpenAlex | W7222916205 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 38 |
Spanish-language appeals are a common tool for mobilizing Latino voters, yet most research treats Spanish as a uniform cue of a panethnic Latino identity. This paper argues that Spanish-language communication operates through a dual-cue logic : it can signal shared panethnicity, while the accent of delivery simultaneously cues national origin attachments. Using a preregistered survey experiment of 953 Mexican-origin Latinos, we test how accent congruence—whether the accent in a Spanish-language appeal matches listeners’ national origin background—shapes evaluations of a Latino candidate. Respondents exposed to a Puerto Rican accent rated the candidate less favorably and perceived weaker commitment to the Mexican-American community than those exposed to a Mexican accent. These findings show that accent incongruence weakens the link between language and representation, highlighting how subtle linguistic variation can complicate identity-based outreach and efforts to mobilize the nation’s second-largest ethno-racial group.
candidate evaluation · language variation · Latino voters · panethnicity · Political mobilization · political representation · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Latin American and Latino Studies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology
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| Highly cited | No |
|---|