ABSTRACT
This study aims to contribute new insight into the study of languages in contact by comparing the implicit and explicit general language attitudes of bilingual individuals towards their first and second language in health communication in a multilingual society, through a combination of survey and experimental methods. We investigated to what extent 358 L1 Catalan and 338 L1 Spanish speakers in Catalonia differed in their general attitudes to Catalan and Spanish (explicit language attitudes) and in their reactions to the use of these languages in health advertising, specifically in an advertisement promoting COVID-19 vaccination (implicit language attitudes). This is the first study of its kind in a European multilingual context. Based on accommodation theory and theory related to first-language preference, participants were expected to prefer their L1 and the L1 advertisement. Findings offer support for first-language preference in terms of general language attitudes. However, the language of the ad and participants' first language had little impact on ad-related response. There were no effects of language on attitude towards the ad, attitude towards vaccination and vaccination intention, but the L1 Catalan participants felt the Catalan ad had more appropriate language and expressed more cultural respect than the Spanish ad. Thus, in the current study, explicit language attitudes revealed first-language preference, while implicit language attitudes did so to a limited extent. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Folia Linguistica is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)