Convergence and Divergence in Telephone Conversations: A Case of Persian

Authors: Anna Mirzaiyan, Vahid Parvaresh, Mahmoud Hashemian, Masoud Saeedi

Abstract:

People usually have a telephone voice, which means they adjust their speech to fit particular situations and to blend in with other interlocutors. The question is: Do we speak differently to different people? This possibility has been suggested by social psychologists within Accommodation Theory [1]. Converging toward the speech of another person can be regarded as a polite speech strategy while choosing a language not used by the other interlocutor can be considered as the clearest example of speech divergence [2]. The present study sets out to investigate such processes in the course of everyday telephone conversations. Using Joos-s [3] model of formality in spoken English, the researchers try to explore convergence to or divergence from the addressee. The results propound the actuality that lexical choice, and subsequently, patterns of style vary intriguingly in concordance with the person being addressed.

Keywords: Convergence, divergence, lexical formality, speechaccommodation.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1335074

References:

[1] H. Giles, "Accent mobility: A model and some data," Anthropological Linguistics, vol.15, pp. 87-105, 1973.
[2] J. Holmes, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman, 1992.
[3] M. Joos, The Five Clocks. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1961.
[4] J. L. Austin, How To Do Things With Words: The William James Lectures Delivered at Harvard University in 1955, Oxford: Clarendon, 1962.
[5] P. Drew, and T. Curl, "Conversation Analysis," in Advances in Discourse Studies, V. Bhatia, J. Flowerdew, and R. Jones, Eds. London: Routledge, 2007, pp. 22-35.
[6] C. Gallois, T. Ogay, and H. Giles, "Communication accommodation theory: A look back and a look ahead," in Theorizing about International Communication, W. Gudykunst, Ed. CA: Sage, 2005, pp.121-148.
[7] H. Tajfel, and J. Turner, "An integrative theory of intergroup conflict," in The Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations, W. G. Austin, and S. Worchel, Eds. CA: Wadsworth, Belmont, 1979, pp. 33-53.
[8] Bell, "Language Style as Audience Design," Language in Society, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 145-204, 1984.
[9] W. Labov, Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press, 1979.
[10] J. Richards, J. Platt, and H. Weber, Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics. Hong Kong: Longman, 1992.
[11] M. A. K. Halliday, Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of Language and Meaning. Maryland: University Park Press, 1978.
[12] P. Trudgill, On Dialect: Social and Geographical Perspectives. New York: New York University Press, 1983.
[13] R. Quirk, S. Greenbaum, G. Leech, and J. Svartvik, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985.
[14] N. Coupland, Dialect in Use. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1980.
[15] C. Blanche-Beneviste, Le Francais Parle: Etudes Grammaticales. Paris: Presse du CNRS, 1991.
[16] L. Kirk, "Communicative Competence and Proficiency Reconsidered," Paper presented at the Winter Statewide Foreign Language Conference of the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1988.
[17] F. Heylighen, and J. Dewaele, Formality of Language: Definition, Measurement, and Behavioral Determinants. Internal Report, Center Leo Apostle, Free University of Brussels, 1999.
[18] S. Sarangi, and H. Slembrouck, Language Practice in Social Work: Categorisation and Accountability in Child Welfare. London: Routledge, 2006.
[19] H. G. Ladegaard, "Pragmatic cooperation revisited: Resistance and noncooperation as a discursive strategy in asymmetrical discourses," Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 649-666, 2009.
[20] L. Beebe, and H. Giles, "Speech-accommodation theories: A discussion in terms of second language acquisition," International Journal of The Sociology of Language, vol. 46, pp. 5-32, 1984.
[21] H. P. Grice, "Logic and Conversation," in Syntax and Semantics: Vol. 3, P. Cole, and J. Morgan, Eds. New York: Academic Press, 1975, pp. 41-58.
[22] J. C. Richards, Teaching Listening and Speaking: From Theory to Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.