accommodation theory Flashcards
who was the accommodation theory developed by and when?
howard giles and others in the 1970s
what does the accommodation theory suggest?
it suggests that we adjust our speech to ‘accommodate’ the person we are addressing. this may result in convergence or divergence
when does convergence occur?
this is more common and occurs when we move our speech closer to that of the other person
when does divergence occur?
when people’s speech styles move further apart
convergence ….. the social distance between people
convergence decreases the social distance between people
what is downward convergence?
this is when someone with an RP accent ‘tones down’ their accent to speak to someone with a ‘lower class’ accent
what is upward convergence?
if someone with a ‘working class’ accent tries to eliminate some of the stronger regional features of their speech for a job interview with an RP speaker
what does divergence have the effect of?
emphasising the differences between people
what is accent mobility?
the ability of an individual to modify his/her accent of pronunciation
when is someone a linguistic chameleon?
people adapt the language and customs of those around themselves in order to feel like part of a group
what is miscarried accommodation?
a distinction we make between subjective accommodation, where you think you’re going or where you want to go, and objective accommodation, where you actually end up
when is someone overly accommodating?
if it was the only accommodation you made to a certain speech and so it came out of the blue, it could be considered as a little fake
when is someone non-accommodative?
happens if someone is as aggressive
