The experiment
The study included 50 native German speakers who were studying at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Half of their classes were taught in Dutch, and many of the studentsconsumed alcohol in moderation.
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The participants were observed having a two-minute conversation in Dutch by native Dutch speakers. Some of the participants were given water, whilst the others were given an alcoholic beverage. At the time, the Dutch recorders did not know which participates were given the alcoholic drinks versus water.
As quoted in the journal:
The purpose of this study was to test the effect of intelligent alcohol consumption on self-reported verbal language performance evaluated by observers in participants who have recently learned this language.
The conclusion
What was the verdict? The people who were consuming booze were able to hold a conversation much easier than the others. The pronunciation was a lot better than those who just drank water, but the grammar and vocabulary usage was pretty similar between groups.
Although this is good news, the more alcohol you consume, the more impaired you'll be. So remember, it's important to only drink in moderation!
