Adjusting To Cultural Differences: Non-native Student's Communication Accommodation In Shanghai

Communication Accommodation Theory(CAT) stems from Speech Accommodation Theory(SAT) and Ethnolinguistic Identity Theory(ELIT),focusing on how communicators adjust,modify or regulate one's linguistic behavior in response to others.It proposes that speakers use accommodation strategies,such as (?) ergence,divergence or maintenance to seek approval,enhance comprehension or to show distinctiveness in cross-cultural communications.CAT not only explores motivations and consequences of these accommodation behaviors,but also sheds light on both interpersonal and intergroup relations.Under the theoretical framework of CAT,the present study intends to examine the non-native Shanghai university students(NNSUS)' language attitude toward Shanghai dialect,to probe their initial orientations toward the Shanghai group as well as their accommodation strategies in intercultural encounters,and to discover the intergroup relations of the two social groups speaking Shanghai dialect and Putonghua.Two theoretical assumptions are to be scrutinized for their validity in the study—1,Willingness to integrate into an outgroup culture,to accept and learn its language is based on one's positive initial orientation toward the outgroup and its members.2, Unwillingness to integrate into an outgroup and an indifferent attitude toward its culture and language are largely related with one's negative initial orientation to that particular cultural group.The present research comprises a questionnaire and an interview.The former consists of two parts with the first part being an adaptation of Xin Sheng's experiment,attending to NNSUS' language attitudes toward Shanghai dialect,Putonghua and their varieties.Subjects of the experiment are divided into four groups and are required to evaluate the speakers after listening to the conversations in which different types of accommodation strategies are used.Language attitudes towards different varieties can be drawn from the evaluations afterwards.The second part of questionnaire is designed with the purpose to explore subjects' initial orientation and accommodation strategies.This part is made up of 14 questions(13 are choices and 1 requires written responses).The interview serves as a supplement to the questionnaire.It helps clarify the unexpected results of the paper work that were sorted out through data analysis.However,the major concern of the interview is to find reasons that are consistent or inconsistent with the theoretical assumptions.The collected data and statistics indicate that:1.generally,Putonghua is favored more than Shanghai dialect in intergroup communications.2.NNSUS's initial orientation toward native Shanghai people and Shanghai dialect show some variation, depending on where they are from.But they always prefer to diverge from their local speech partners.They also expect Shanghai people to use Putonghua in intercultural interactions.3.Shanghai people and its dialect do not enjoy popularity among NNSUS,who are,therefore,speaking Putonghua to maintain group distinctiveness and to achieve equality of status.Factors accounting for such initial orientation and accommodation strategy are group-based interpretations,economy,historical and cultural background,as well as policies concerning language and settlement in Shanghai.4.The first hypothesis is proved to be true,while the second is partially rejected.For the negative initial orientation toward an outgroup does not necessarily result in rejecting behavior toward its language.Two suggestions are offered to NNSUS:1.changing attitudes and treating stereotypes as differences between social groups;2.making use of university organizations to get more understanding of different co-cultures and to gradually erase misunderstanding,stereotypes and prejudices as well.