Monday, 9 May 2016

Language Change



Howard Giles developed a theory whereby people accommodate their language in accordance with who they are talking to called Communication Accommodation Theory. There are two types of accommodation processes in Giles’ Theory:


Convergence– convergence is a process where people tend to adapt the other person’s communication characteristics to reduce the social differences


Divergence-the process contradicts the method of adaptation and in this context the individual emphasise is on the social difference and nonverbal differences between the interactants. It is often linked to overt prestige.


Either one depends on the characteristics of the interactant.





Dr. Baratta is a lecture of sociolinguistics in University of Manchester; he looked at ‘accentism’. He looked at how people modify their accents; his investigation has 98 participants varying from young children to adults and from teachers to students and other staff members from a variety of institutes.

Dr. Baratta said: “Many Brits consciously modify their accent in social situations as a means to create a better impression.” Many of the participants of the investigation

 
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