Language style as audience design

1984 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan Bell
Keyword(s):  
Mass Communication ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Ethnography Of Communication ◽  
Audience Design ◽  
Sociolinguistic Variation ◽  
Language Style ◽  
Accommodation Theory ◽  
Absent Reference

ABSTRACTThe style dimension of language variation has not been adequately explained in sociolinguistic theory. Stylistic or intraspeaker variation derives from and mirrors interspeaker variation. Style is essentially speakers' response to their audience. In audience design, speakers accommodate primarily to their addressee. Third persons – auditors and overhearers – affect style to a lesser but regular degree. Audience design also accounts for bilingual or bidialectal code choices. Nonaudience factors like topic and setting derive their effect by association with addressee types. These style shifts are mainly responsive – caused by a situational change. Speakers can also use style as initiative, to redefine the existing situation. Initiative style is primarily referee design: divergence from the addressee and towards an absent reference group. Referee design is especially prevalent in mass communication. (Sociolinguistic variation, code-switching. bilingualism, accommodation theory, ethnography of communication, mass communication)

scholarly journals Social and Psychological Factors in Thai Student’s Code-Switching

MANUSYA ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-83
Author(s):  
Sumittra Suraratdecha
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Audience Design ◽  
Social Variable ◽  
Code Choice ◽  
Thai Students ◽  
Thai English ◽  
Accommodation Theory ◽  
The University ◽  
Design Factors

This paper examines Thai-English code-switching by eight Thai students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa by taking into account Bell’s audience design factors (Bell 1984), speech accommodation theory (Giles & Smith 1979; Giles & Coupland 1991 ), and other psychosocial factors. Code-switching is defined here as an alternation between one language and another made by a speaker within a sentence, sentences, or a conversation. This paper proposes that code-switching is essentially an accommodative phenomenon; that is, speakers will switch into one language if they think it is appropriate to the topic or to their notions of self and addressee. Conversely, some speakers appear to actively resist code-switching, depending on their evaluation of their own linguistic skills and their perceptions of others. By bringing together observations about who favors code-switching and who resists it, the topic of conversation, among other factors, emerges as the most important social variable across individuals. The result runs counter to the audience design model proposed by Bell (1984), who claims that audience design factors are more influential than non-audience design factors in bilingual code choice.

“Look me, hwε ha, ofainε kwεmɔ biε aha mi fioo!!”: Codeswitching at inter-ethnic traditional marriage ceremonies in southern Ghana

Multilingua ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-311
Author(s):  
Anastasia Nuworsu ◽  
Grace Diabah ◽  
Evershed Kwasi Amuzu
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Ethnography Of Communication ◽  
Linguistic Distance ◽  
Communication Accommodation ◽  
Communication Accommodation Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Traditional Marriage ◽  
Accommodation Theory ◽  
Social Messages ◽  
University Of Ghana

AbstractThis paper investigates the use of codeswitching at traditional inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies in the southern part of Ghana. The study site is Accra, the multilingual capital of Ghana which is located in the south of the country, and was selected due to the high frequency of inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies which take place there. The data analysed were audio-visual recordings of interactions at such ceremonies, collected, by (Nuworsu, Anastasia 2015: Language use in inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies in Greater Accra. MPhil. thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon.). They were complemented with observations made at the event grounds, as well as follow up interviews with key actors during and after the events. The theoretical framework employed is based on a combination of Giles’ Communication Accommodation Theory, Hymes’s Ethnography of Communication and Myers-Scotton‘s Markedness Model. It is found that bilinguals who speak on behalf of families participating in the ceremonies often use codeswitching in innovative ways to convey various social messages. Significant uses were: (i) speakers use codeswitching to converge toward the speech of their in-laws in a bid to decrease the social and linguistic distance between the two families and (ii) they use it as a divergence strategy to, for instance, increase the social and linguistic distance between them when they wish to accentuate an ideological, or any other, difference between them. Overall, the study contributes towards insights about inter-group language practices in multilingual African settings, especially in urban areas.

Strasbourg, another setting for sociolinguistic variation in contemporary French

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
AGNES MARCHESSOU
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Language Practices ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Sociolinguistic Variation ◽  
Ethnographic Approach ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
The City

ABSTRACTThis paper reports on language practices in the city of Strasbourg, in a multi-ethnic working class neighbourhood. This provides a comparative setting to identify whether linguistic features are spreading between French cities. Data were collected from young speakers (16 to 21) using an ethnographic approach over a year. First, this paper will briefly review the literature on language variation research in France. Second, a comparison of vernacular features will be carried out, focusing on lexical innovations, indirect questions following the verb savoir (Gardner-Chloros and Secova, this issue), quotative systems (Cheshire and Secova, this issue) and discourse markers. Finally, the ethnographic data collected as part of this research will be used to consider how multi-ethnic working class neighbourhoods in France are connected with each other, and how language may be travelling between settings.

As in the Question, So in the Answer? Language Style of Human and Machine Speakers Affects Interlocutors’ Convergence on Wordings

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 686-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gesa A. Linnemann ◽  
Regina Jucks
Keyword(s):  
Word Choice ◽  
Dialogue System ◽  
Spoken Dialogue ◽  
Communication Accommodation ◽  
Spoken Dialogue System ◽  
Communication Accommodation Theory ◽  
Cognitive Organization ◽  
Language Style ◽  
Conversational Partner ◽  
Accommodation Theory

People adapt their word choice to both humans and computers. In this study, language style (elaborated vs. restricted) and perceived conversational partner (human vs. spoken dialogue system) were varied. Convergence was greater when reacting to a restricted language style. Participants preferred human partners and an elaborated language style. In line with communication accommodation theory, results suggest that considering restricted capabilities (cognitive organization) constitutes a central motive for convergence. Implications for spoken dialogue system design are discussed.

Gender and second language style

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Hardeman Guthrie
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Style ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Learner Perceptions ◽  
Salient Factor

Abstract Gender has been shown to be a salient factor in acquisition of second language variation (Adamson & Regan, 1991; Major, 2004; Meyerhoff & Schleef, 2012; Rehner, Mougeon, & Nadasdi, 2003; Schleef, Meyerhoff, & Clark, 2011). However, these studies have primarily focused on learner production of target language variation and style in the sense of attention paid to speech. There has been little focus on learner perceptions of the social meanings associated with L2 variants and styles. The present article addresses this gap in the research by examining L2 learner perceptions of a gendered style of speaking in Mandarin Chinese known as sajiao. Results from a perception experiment confirm the salience of gender in the acquisition of L2 variation and show that American L2 Mandarin learners have acquired some of the social meanings associated with sajiao but not others. An acoustic phonetic analysis of sajiao is also presented.

scholarly journals Code Mixing in an Indonesia Novel Entitled Teman tapi Menikah

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-104
Author(s):  
Ifrohatul Fauqoh Nikmah ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Language Variation ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Code Mixing

The objective of this research was to focus on the use of the English Code Mixing in an Indoensian Novel Entitled Teman Tapi Menikah. The writer used qualitative research for conducting the research. The writer determined the reasons and impact of codemixing in after data has been collected. The aim of study is to investigate the used of English code mixing in Novel Teman Tapi Menikah writers by Ayudia and Dito. This Novel consist of 206 pages, the writer will collect data by reading the Novel and underline the English Code mixing happen in the Novel. It can be concluded that the data of language variation has been elaborated. the writer found the reason for code switching and code mixing in Pojok Kampong news. They are: Easier to Understand, Maintaining Certain Neutrality when both Codes are used, Asserting Power, Pride, and Status, Eliminating ambiguity, Adopts from other language in Javanese, Declaring Solidarity, Expressing Identity, Express Self Emotion, Conveying the Speaker’s Attitude to the Listener, Being more Informative, Being Incompetent in Finding the Appropriate Word.

scholarly journals Code-switching between Arabic and English during Jordanian GP consultations

2020 ◽  
pp. 4-22
Author(s):  
Etaf Alkhlaifat ◽  
◽  
Ping Yang ◽  
Mohamed Moustakim ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Code Switching ◽  
Communication Accommodation ◽  
Medical Settings ◽  
Communication Accommodation Theory ◽  
Social Perspectives ◽  
Speech Styles ◽  
Medical Consultations ◽  
Social Motivations ◽  
Arabic And English ◽  
Accommodation Theory

This study draws conceptually on communication accommodation theory (CAT) to describe and analyze conversations between doctors and patients to identify the psycholinguistic and social motivations for code-switching (CS) between English and Arabic languages during medical consultations in Jordan. The researchers employ a thematic qualitative approach to interpret the phenomena under study. GP doctors (n=9) and patients (n=18) were observed and video-recorded in real medical settings and subsequently interviewed. This generated a comprehensive audio and videotaped corpus of data, which revealed that doctors and patients used code-switching during the medical consultation for two main reasons: 1) filling lexical gaps and 2) accommodating the other party. Jordanian bilingual doctors code-switched from English to Arabic and from Arabic to English to bridge lexical gaps, while both doctors and patients adapted their speech styles for the purpose of convergence. This study is significant as it investigates and examines the phenomenon of code-switching among Jordanian doctors and patients from psycholinguistic and social perspectives to gain a clearly defined sociolinguistic explanation of code-switching phenomena during their clinical interaction.

scholarly journals The functions of code switching in an English language classroom

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Eva Fachriyah
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Ethnography Of Communication ◽  
English Class ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Communication Method ◽  
English Classroom ◽  
Faculty Of Education ◽  
Teaching Learning

The aims of this research is to gain a deep understanding and to knowing  the use of code-switching that have done by students and lecturers in interaction when teaching learning in English class. Specifically or as sub-focus in this research was aimed to determine the functions for the use of code switching that is used by both  of the speaker and hearer that in this case the interaction between lecturer and students when learning takes place. This research was conducted at the campus of the State Islamic Institute "Sultan Maulana Hasanuddin Banten" at the Faculty of Education and Teaching in English department at the third semester. This study was a qualitative research by using ethnography of communication method. The techniques and procedures of data collection were used such as observation, recordings and transcripts, and interviews. Based on data analysis, the use of code switching in English classroom has got the result for functions of code switching in interaction when the learning take place. Key words: code switching, English learning, ethnography communication.

scholarly journals Students’ Attitudes to Teachers’ Code -Switching at Undergraduate Level in Pakistan

2017 ◽  
Vol II (I) ◽  
pp. 38-54
Author(s):  
Summaira Aziz ◽  
Fasih Ahmed ◽  
Momel Shehnaz
Keyword(s):  
Code Switching ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Academic Goals ◽  
Communication Accommodation ◽  
Undergraduate Level ◽  
Communication Accommodation Theory ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Accommodation Theory

The study investigates attitudes of social and natural science students towards the practice of code switching by respective teachers at undergraduate level. For this purpose, Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) is applied. An adapted questionnaire of El-Fiki (1999) focused the advantages, disadvantages and CS practice as a helping tool in teaching methodology. The statistical results show a variation in the students’ attitudes based on gender, program and academic background. Furthermore, the results show that the students favor CS as it enhances the comprehension level of the students regarding the subject, they are enrolled in. The study concludes that teachers’ codeswitching proves helpful in achieving the academic goals.

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