Multilingual Accommodation in Namibia
An Examination of Six Ethnolinguistic Groups’ Language Use in Intra- and Intergroup Interactions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2350583 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gerald Stell (0000-0001-9620-2288, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, corresponding author), Marko Dragojevic (0000-0001-5387-9563, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 167-187 |
| Publication date | 2017-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Language and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0261-927X • E-ISSN: 1552-6526 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0261927x16650718 |
| OpenAlex | W2398373241 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 29 |
This study examined how six different ethnolinguistic groups in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, adjust their language use during intergroup encounters. Invoking communication accommodation theory, we predicted that relatively low-vitality groups (high-vitality groups) would be inclined towards linguistic convergence (maintenance), but that these general patterns would be moderated by prevailing sociocultural norms and each group's language proficiency. These hypotheses were largely supported. Relatively low-vitality groups tended to linguistically converge (typically via lingua francas), whereas relatively high-vitality groups tended to engage in linguistic maintenance. This resulted in two distinct patterns of adjustment: (a) symmetrical accommodation in interactions involving groups of relatively equal vitality, typically consisting of mutual convergence to lingua francas or mutual maintenance of a shared heritage language and (b) asymmetrical accommodation in intergroup interactions involving groups of relatively unequal vitality, typically consisting of upward convergence among lower vitality groups, and maintenance among higher vitality groups
Accommodation · Lingua franca · Linguistics · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Theology · Vitality · Anthropology · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
Let’s cross the border
Machine Translation and Communication Accommodation in Hotel–Guest Interactions
Little chance for divergence
Perspective-taking and language competence as predictors of language accommodation by adolescents from monolingual and bilingual households
Mapping inequality, charting justice
Fitting into a more appealing diaspora than my own
Phonetic Accommodation on the Segmental and the Suprasegmental Level of Speech in Native–Non-Native Collaborative Tasks
Jenoside, génocide, genocide
Vitality, Language Use, and Life Satisfaction
Life with Two Languages
The International Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Communication
Communication Accommodation Theory
Code-switching
Accommodation theory
Political Parties in Africa
The attraction paradigm
The Handbook of Intergroup Communication
Interethnic relations and language variation
Language use as a carrier of social identity
We won't get ahead speaking like that!’ Expressing and managing language criticism in Hawai'i
Advances in the Social Psychology of Language
Language, Ethnicity and Intergroup Relations
Dimensions of welsh identity
Attribution Processes and Interpersonal Accommodation in a Bilingual Setting
What do you do when you can't accommodate? Managing and evaluating problematic interactions in a multilingual medical environment
Diglossia, ethnolinguistic vitality, and language behavior
Speaker evaluations as a function of speech rate, accent and context
Cross-cultural communication in Montreal
Ethnolinguistic identity theory
Vitality Perceptions and Language Attitudes
Language and Social Psychology
Effects of Inferred Motive on Evaluations of Nonaccommodative Communication
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2026 (10) |
| Highly cited | No |