How Saudi migrants’ metapragmatic judgments of Arabic L1 nonverbal greetings change after intense and prolonged exposure to English

Abstract This study investigates the impact of spending more than three years in an English environment on Saudi migrants’ metapragmatic judgments Arabic L1 nonverbal greetings and their personality traits. Participants are 437 adults comprising groups: L2 speakers UK, Saudis Arabia, British UK. They observed rated audiovisual stimulus illustrating greeting behaviours handshake cheek-to-cheek kiss. Statistical analyses revealed that appropriateness ratings by migrants UK diverged from those Arabia approximated users Moreover, were differently associated with profiles, which differed for traits between two groups. These findings suggest change judgements as well a result prolonged intense exposure to L2. The results interpreted light Cook’s (2012) concept multicompetence.