Partial Language Acquisition: The Impact of Conformity

William Brock, Bo Chen, Steven Durlauf and Shlomo Weber

No 34138, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper analyzes patterns of majority language acquisition in an economy consisting of a majority group and multiple minority groups. We consider contexts in which allows individuals choose among three options: full learning, partial learning, or no learning of the majority language. The key innovation in our approach is the introduction of a conformity factor in language acquisition, where peer pressure and community status may outweigh communicative and economic incentives for some individuals. Notably, we identify a non-monotonic relationship between the level of conformity and the distribution of full learners, partial learners, and non-learners in equilibrium. This finding is significant for policy considerations, as small adjustments in language acquisition costs may unpredictably influence language acquisition patterns across minority groups.

JEL-codes: C72 D61 J15 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-08
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