Showing papers by "Howard Giles published in 2013"

The social meanings of language, dialect and accent: international perspectives on speech styles

Abstract: This volume represents a unique contribution to the area of language attitudes research with its focus on how languages, dialects and accents induce us to form social judgments about people who use these forms.The essays attend to evaluations of speech styles across nations. No previous work has embraced this comparative perspective globally, but such a volume that situates language and attitude research in the 21st century is long overdue.The content is culturally diverse and showcases the work of eminent scholars across the globe. Each chapter brings its own theoretical interpretation to this field of study, and the book provides the reader with a plethora of models that extend our understanding of language attitudes.It is fitting that Cindy Gallois, who has incisively contributed to research on language attitudes over the past 30 years, provides an epilogue on the current state of language attitudes research.

Investigating Stepparent-Stepchild Interactions: The Role of Communication Accommodation

Abstract: This study examined the utility of communication accommodation theory (CAT) to investigate stepchildren's perceptions of communication patterns in typical interactions with their stepparents. A total of 133 stepchildren completed an online survey about their perceptions of their stepparents’ accommodative and nonaccommodative behaviors. A measure of accommodation, overaccommodation, and underaccommodation was created for this study and items were tested with factor analysis. Findings indicate support for CAT's predictions: perceptions of stepparent accommodation, underaccommodation and overaccommodation predict stepchildren's accommodative behavior in typical interactions, as well as their conversation satisfaction, relational closeness and perceptions of shared family identity with their stepparents. Further, stepchildren's perceptions of shared family identity with stepparents correlate positively with their reports of satisfaction with blended family life.

Language ideologies and language attitudes: a foundational framework

Abstract: ...In this opening chapter, we draw on work in sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, and the social psychology of language to provide a general organizing framework for the present volume. We provide brief overviews of unique features of the chapters that follow this, and epilogue with a set of Principles that define the substance of findings emerging from language attitude research...

Tourism: an intergroup communication model with Russian inflections

Abstract: Tourism is big business globally, as witnessed by the World Tourism Organization's estimation that there were more than a billion tourists in 2012. Surprisingly, the fields of intergroup and intercultural communication have, as yet, only spawned a few studies on understanding host–tourist language practices. Drawing on communication accommodation theory (with reflections on touristic experiences in St. Petersburg), a model is proposed not only for understanding past research on tourist–host communication, but also as a blueprint for guiding future research of this genre in Russia.

Accommodating the Interactional Dynamics of Conflict Management

Abstract: In this paper, we discuss the ways that communication accommodation theory (CAT) can be a useful framework for understanding and diagnosing interactional issues in interpersonal and intergroup conflict situations. We argue that the theory’s construct of attuning strategies provides a multidimensional view of mutual adjustment, leading to insights relevant to successful versus unsuccessful conflict management. We then connect this framework to work on improvisation and logics of exchange. Finally, we discuss how contextual variables suggested by CAT may impact the nature of communication in a conflict situation and, thus, the course that a conflict interaction may take.

The dark side of family communication: a communication model of elder abuse and neglect.

Abstract: To further address the potential factors that lead up to elder abuse in domestic settings, this paper proposes a model from a communication approach to explain dyadic influences between the family caregiver and the elderly care receiver that give rise to the abuse. That is, dysfunctional communication between the caregivers and care receivers may, therefore, increase the likelihood of elder abuse. Grounded in Bugental and her colleagues' work (1993, 1999, 2002) on child abuse, we propose a power-oriented communication model based, in part, on research in the fields of family violence and intergenerational communication to explain the likelihood of occurrence of elder abuse in family caregiving situations. We argue that certain risk factors pertaining to caregivers' characteristics--those who perceive high stress in caregiving, have mental health issues, have a history of substance abuse, and/or display verbal aggressiveness--may be more likely to attribute considerable power to those elderly under their custodianship. At the same time, such caregivers tend to feel powerless and experience loss of control when interacting with their elderly counterparts. When an elderly care receiver displays noncompliant behaviors, caregivers may be prone to employ abusive behaviors (in our model, it refers to physical abuse, verbal abuse, or communication neglect) to seek such compliance. Consequences of such abuse may result in lower self-esteem or lower confidence in one's ability to manage his/her life. It is suggested that researchers and practitioners investigate both parties' interactions closely and the role of elderly care receivers in order to detect, intervene, and prevent elder abuse.

Communication, Volunteering, and Aging: A Research Agenda

Abstract: Americans’ annual volunteer service totals over 8 billion hours and is estimated to be worth more than 100 billion dollars. Older adults perform much of this work, and being a volunteer has been identified as a predictor of successful aging. Despite its prevalence and importance in this demographic group, volunteering remains understudied in the field of communication. This theoretical article integrates work from various disciplines to examine the topics of volunteering and successful aging through a communication lens. After defining volunteering, we systematically outline how communication can inform the study of volunteering. We then briefly highlight potential determinants and motivations for older adults’ volunteering and examine the link between volunteering and successful aging, arguing that many of the documented benefits of volunteering may in fact result from the communicative opportunities it affords. Finally, we outline an agenda for future research on communication, successful aging, and volunteering.

Intergenerational Communication and Age Boundaries in Mongolia and the United States

Abstract: This article examines Mongolian and American young adults' perceptions of prior experiences of intergenerational communication. Irrespective of culture, as age of targets increased from young adulthood to older adulthood, so did attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and avoidance; conversely, stereotypes of personal vitality decreased linearly. Mongolian youth expressed more stereotypic personal vitality and less normative politeness, yet more normative deference and less communicative avoidance toward older adults. In addition, differences were revealed across the nations with regard to when young adulthood and middle age begins and ends, and when elderliness begins.

Vitalidad etnolingüística, medios de comunicación e identidad étnica. Un estudio con grupos indígenas de Chiapas (Mexico) [Ethnolinguistic vitality, mass media, and ethnic identity: A study with indigenous groups in the Chiapas (Mexico)]

Abstract: This study is the first exploration of television use and program selection by indigenous groups in Chiapas (Mexico); more specifically, how members of these groups select specific media messages for reasons of ethnicity, and how this is related to social mobility strategies is examined. Data from 173 indigenous students of the Intercultural University of Chiapas indicated that watching television and selecting programs on the basis of their ethnicity is an important viewing activity for 77 members of this sample. These results encourage more programmatic future research on these issues in Chiapas and are discussed in terms of the representation of ethnic groups there on TV. Este estudio es la primera exploracion del uso de la television y la seleccion de programas por parte de grupos indigenas en Chiapas. Mas especificamente, se examina como los miembros de estos grupos seleccionan mensajes especificos de los medios por razones de etnicidad, y como esto tiene que ver con las estrategias de movilidad social. Los datos de 146 indigenas estudiantes de la Universidad Intercultural de Chiapas indicaron que ver television y seleccionar programas sobre la base de su origen etnico es una importante actividad de visualizacion para 77 miembros de esta muestra. Estos resultados se discuten en terminos de la representacion de los grupos etnicos que aparecen en la television y motivan a la realizacion de futuras investigaciones sobre estos temas en Chiapas

Identidad nacional, vitalidad etnolingüística e indigenismo en Chiapas (México)

Abstract: ResumenEn este articulo se presentan algunos resultados de una investigacion mas amplia sobre la vitalidad etnolinguistica en indigenas y mestizos de Chiapas (Mexico). Participaron en el estudio un total de 190 estudiantes de la U niversidad Intercultural de Chiapas: 115 indigenas y 75 mestizos. Los resultados muestran una fuerte identificacion como mexicanos en ambos grupos, asi como la consideracion de que segun los participantes “los indigenas son los autenticos mexicanos”. Se comparan los resultados en indigenismo y vitalidad etnolinguistica general. Se discuten los resultados a la luz de los perfiles de vitalidad etnolinguistica hallados en la literatura previa y la obra de Bonfill Mexico profundo.