Talking to a stranger: Linguistic and non-linguistic behavior of Russian immigrants during 2010 US Census

•Linguistic behavior of Russian immigrants and English language speakers was similar.•Enumerators' linguistic behavior differed.•The Russian cultural trait of hospitality facilitated successful interaction.•Deviations from a scripted interview protocol promoted successful enumeration.•Respondents became more relaxed during the interview; setting affected comfort level.

During the 2010 US Census enumeration the linguistic and non-linguistic behavior of Russian immigrants with little or no fluency in English was examined and contrasted with data from English language participants. The qualitative analysis of linguistic behavior (phatic communion and conversational closings) revealed similar patterns of interaction for both groups. The quantitative analysis of the non-linguistic behavior (the respondents' observed comfort level throughout the interview and the interview setting) showed a significant increase in comfort level throughout the interviews and movement into a more intimate setting contributed positively to that increase, suggesting that deviations from the strictly scripted protocol provided by the Census Bureau may positively affect the outcome and success of a government initiated activity among linguistically distant populations.