Linguistic Accommodation

Accommodation is the process whereby a listener makes adjustments in response to behavior of the speaker. In the area of linguistics we might broadly label as theoretical pragmatics, within which we include much of formal semantics and philosophy of language, accommodation is the mechanism whereby hearers modify their representation of the conversational background so as to match assumptions that the speaker has made. The most pervasive type of accommodation involves presupposition, when a speaker takes some type of information for granted. Accommodation of presuppositions occurs when the listener adjusts their knowledge state in order to match the information that a speaker has presupposed. For example, if a speaker says, “I have to go pick up my sister from the airport,” there is a presupposition triggered that the speaker has a sister. If the listener is not already aware of the existence of the sister, they must accommodate this information by adjusting their information state accordingly. Two dominant approaches to modeling presupposition behavior have emerged in the past few decades, resulting in two broad understandings of accommodation. For a class of dynamic semantic theories, accommodation is a process that involves satisfaction in local contexts. On the other hand, a wave of research on presupposition as anaphora relies on a notion of accommodation as the creation of antecedents to enable anaphoric resolution that would otherwise fail. Within both understandings of accommodation, the particular mechanisms can also vary. Some accounts weigh the plausibility of material to be accommodated, some accounts weigh the alternative contexts within which material might be accommodated, and some weigh the amount of descriptive content contributed by the presupposition. Besides accommodation in theoretical pragmatics, a broader notion of accommodation is prominent in sociolinguistics, as well as further afield from linguistics in social psychology and anthropology. This notion includes not only the beliefs of the interlocutors, but also many other aspects of speech style and communicative behavior more generally. This literature primarily draws from communication accommodation theory (CAT), according to which a speaker adjusts their communicative behavior based on that of their interlocuter. Commonly, this adjustment involves mirroring, but interlocutors may also adjust to make differences salient rather than emphasizing similarity. While theoretical pragmatic and sociolinguistic accommodation are distinct notions with independent intellectual histories, presupposition accommodation can be seen as a special case of sociolinguistic accommodation. Both involve a hearer’s adjustment in response to a speaker. However, the former is more restrictive, concerning only adjustment to increase similarity, and only adjustment of aspects of what Lewis termed the conversational scoreboard, within which he includes the beliefs of the speaker and hearer.

KONJO-BUGINESE LANGUAGE ACCOMMODATION IN INTERACTION WITH THE IMMIGRANTS IN WEST SINJAI

This study aimed to identify the use of Konjo-Buginese language in West Sinjai, Sinjai Regency and the Konjo-Buginese language accommodation in interacting with the immigrants. This study employed the ethnography theory by Dell Hymes. The data were gathered using in-depth interview, observation, and documentation and analyzed using the communication accommodation theory by Howard Giles. The results showed that Konjo-Buginese language used in West Sinjai was adopted mostly from the Konjo Mountains language and the accommodation took the form of convergence. The divergent speech behavior was only performed by the elderly people and those who do not speak Indonesian.

Akomodasi Bahasa di Napan, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Wilayah Perbatasan Indonesia-Timor Leste

Napan village is located in the Indonesia-Timor Leste border region whose people speak in Dawan and Indonesian. The problem in this studyare the accommodation of Dawan speakers, what is the direction of their accommodation between languages, and how do speakers’ who accommodate at the syntactic level based on gender and age groupThis study aims to identify the level of syntax used in language accommodation and its frequency based on the characteristics of respondents in Napan Village, the Indonesia-Timor Leste border region, East Nusa Tenggara. The method of the study is the survey method with 72 respondents of Dawan speakers which are divided into 36 men and 36 women as the samples. The results show that speakers of Dawan accommodate the language because of the security, familiarity, and growing trust within the speech participants. Speakers of Dawan are very positive about their language, positive about Indonesian language and quite positive about the languages of the neighboring country, namely Tetun Portu or Tetun Dili. Speakers of the Dawan language accommodate the Tetun Portu or Tetun Dili language at the lexical level, phrases, sentences, and expressions. Based on gender, female speakers of Dawan accommodate the Tetun Portu or Tetun Dili language (9.7%) more than male speakers (8.3%). Meanwhile, male speakers of Dawan (41.7%) are less accommodative to Tetun Portu or Tetun Dili than female speakers (40.3%). Based on age, speakers of Dawan who accommodate the Tetun Portu or Tetun Dili languages dominantly come from the ages of 26--50 years old (8.3%) compared to ages less than 25 years old (5.5%) and more than 51 years old (4, 2%). In addition, speakers of Dawan who do not accommodate the Tetun Portu or Tetun Dili languages are speakers older than 51 years old (29.2%) more dominant than those aged less than 25 years (27.8%) and those aged between 26-50 years (25%). ABSTRAKDesa Napan terletak di wilayah perbatasan Indonesia-Timor Leste yang masyarakatnya bertutur dalam bahasa Dawan dan bahasa Indonesia. Permasalahan dalam penelitian ini ialah mengapa penutur bahasa Dawan berakomodasi, bagaimana arah akomodasi antarbahasa, dan bagaimana penutur yang berakomodasi pada tataran sintaksis berdasarkan jenis kelamin dan kelompok usia? Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi tataran sintaksis yang digunakan dalam akomodasi bahasa dan frekuensinya berdasarkan karakteristik responden di Desa Napan, wilayah perbatasan Indonesia-Timor Leste, Nusa Tenggara Timur. Dalam penelitian ini digunakan metode survei. Sampel dalam penelitian ini adalah 72 responden penutur bahasa Dawan, yang terdiri atas 36 pria dan 36 wanita. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penutur bahasa Dawan di Desa Napan berakomodasi karena kenyamanan, keakraban, dan untuk menumbuhkan rasa percaya mitra tutur. Penutur bahasa Dawan sangat positif terhadap daerahnya (bahasa Dawan), positif terhadap bahasa Indonesia, dan cukup positif terhadap bahasa negara tetangga, yaitu bahasa Tetun Portu atau Tetun Dili. Penutur bahasa Dawan berakomodasi terhadap bahasa Tetun Portu atau Tetun Dili pada tataran leksikal, frasa, kalimat, dan ungkapan. Berdasarkan jenis kelamin, penutur perempuan bahasa Dawan yang berakomodasi terhadap bahasa Tetun Portu atau Tetun Dili (9,7%) lebih dominan daripada laki-laki (8,3%). Sementara itu, penutur laki-laki bahasa Dawan yang tidak berakomodasi terhadap bahasa Tetun Portu atau Tetun Dili (41,7%) lebih dominan daripada perempuan (40,3%). Berdasarkan kelompok usia, penutur bahasa Dawan yang berakomodasi terhadap bahasa Tetun Portu atau Tetun Dili tampak dominan yang berusia 26—50 tahun (8,3%) dibandingkan dengan yang berusia <25 tahun (5,5%) dan > 51 tahun (4,2%). Di samping itu, penutur bahasa Dawan yang tidak berakomodasi bahasa adalah penutur yang berusia >51 tahun (29,2%) lebih dominan daripada yang berusia <25 tahun (27,8%) dan yang berusia 26—50 tahun (25%).

Analysis of Cognitive Linguistics Phenomena and Associated Learning Capability in Smartphone Class for the Elderly

This research is based on writer’s experience of teaching about 30 elders in smartphone classes over the course of 6 months at a community in Shanghai. Cognitive linguistic phenomena in the teaching process are discussed. The elders’ lack the lexicon and context of this internet age leads to low learning efficiency and inability of self-studying. The use of referential language accommodation, a specific kind of language simplification, by the teachers, poses potential psychological harm of to the elders. This research concludes that starting classes by “lexicon and context” as the basis for subsequent classes can solve both problems. The phenomenon and causes of elders’ unconscious “egocentricity” are also discussed. Teachers should present understanding as tolerance may alleviate elder egocentricity.

Anmerkungen zum Salienzbegriff in der Soziolinguistik

In this paper I argue that the psychological notion of salience should be kept strictly apart from its causes and effects (on language change or language accommodation). I further argue that we should distinguish between physiological, cognitive and sociolinguistic factors contributing to salience. Finally, it is argued that salience based on social stereotyping is the best predictor of change and accommodation, but needs to be supported by the right evaluation of the salient feature in order to have an effect.