Researchers at the Universities of Bath and Freiburg have discovered that even small amounts of alcohol can improve speech, and received the satirical Ig Nobel Prize for their trouble.
Sometimes a small sip is enough to lower your inhibitions when attempting to speak a foreign language. At least that's what a study carried out by the University of Bath and the University of Freiburg shows. For these unusual – but scientifically sound – findings, researchers were awarded the Ig Nobel Prize, a satirical award that honors scientific progress of the more humorous sort, while also making the public think. At this year's award ceremony, the study on so-called "Dutch courage" received the prize in the Peace category.
The research group observed around 50 German-speaking participants who had recently learned Dutch: One part of the group was given a small amount of alcohol, while the control group was served a non-alcoholic drink before everyone had a short conversation in the language they had learned. The recordings were then evaluated by native Dutch speakers – with the result that alcohol apparently contributed to more fluent and confident speech.
The evaluation showed that participants who had consumed a small amount of booze actually showed slightly better pronunciation in Dutch than the control group. However, the researchers emphasize that further studies are needed to check whether the results can also be transferred to other languages and learners. Their conclusion: Light to moderate alcohol consumption can possibly reduce inhibitions when speaking a foreign language – an effect that should, however, be taken with a grain of salt. So whether a glass of sake or wine actually leads to more fluency remains an open question for now.
