Language attitudes are complex evaluative reactions to different language varieties, encompassing three primary components: **cognitive**, **affective**, and **conative**. These components help explain how individuals perceive, feel about, and behave towards languages.
## Cognitive Component
The cognitive aspect involves an individual's beliefs and knowledge about a language. This includes perceptions regarding its status, utility, and the social groups associated with it. For instance, individuals may believe that speaking a particular language correlates with intelligence or socioeconomic status. Research indicates that language attitudes often stem from social categorization and stereotyping processes, where listeners use linguistic cues to infer social group membership and subsequently attribute stereotypic traits to speakers based on those inferences[1].
## Affective Component