Multilingual Accommodation in Namibia

Author:

Stell Gerald12,Dragojevic Marko3

Affiliation:

1. The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

2. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

3. University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

Abstract

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.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Linguistics and Language,Sociology and Political Science,Anthropology,Language and Linguistics,Education,Social Psychology

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