Intergroup Language Research Articles

Bahasa dan Identiti Penan Muslim di Kampung Tanjong Belipat, Niah: Satu Tinjauan Awal

This article discusses the Penan Muslim community, which lives scattered around the Niah and Suai river valley in the northern part of Sarawak. In the past, they were a nomadic tribe that settled the remote areas in Sarawak and Kalimantan. Since the 19th century, some moved to the coastal area and embraced Islam as the religion of their community. The Penan Muslims in Tanjong Belipat village are one such community. After converting to Islam, the Penan Muslims abandoned their old traditional beliefs and also their mother tongue, the Penan language. Linguistically, the Penan language belongs to the Kayan-Kenyah language subgroup. After they embraced Islam, they adopted the Bintulu language-another language from the subgroup of languages in Northern Sarawak-as their main language. The Penan and Bintulu languages are mutually unintelligible. This kind of inter-group language shifting has a relation to religion, i.e. the Penan chose a language which they felt symbolizes a Muslim identity. Since the Bintulu tribe was the only Muslim tribe in the Niah valley, their language was chosen by the Penan as they adopted a new ethnic identity. After converting to Islam, the Penan Muslim community seems to have faced two complex yet subjective identities. Although they were now Muslim, they did not identify themselves as "Malay" like the Melanaus of Sarawak or the Dayak Muslims of Kalimantan. The term "Malay" was only used in certain circumstances and domains that are related to the economy. It is also observed that although the Penan Muslims are loyal to the Penan identity, intermarriage between them and the Malays has accelerated the "masuk Melayu" (becoming Malay) phenomenon among the Penan Muslim community.

“Look me, hwε ha, ofainε kwεmɔ biε aha mi fioo!!”: Codeswitching at inter-ethnic traditional marriage ceremonies in southern Ghana

AbstractThis paper investigates the use of codeswitching at traditional inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies in the southern part of Ghana. The study site is Accra, the multilingual capital of Ghana which is located in the south of the country, and was selected due to the high frequency of inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies which take place there. The data analysed were audio-visual recordings of interactions at such ceremonies, collected, by (Nuworsu, Anastasia 2015: Language use in inter-ethnic marriage ceremonies in Greater Accra. MPhil. thesis, Department of Linguistics, University of Ghana, Legon.). They were complemented with observations made at the event grounds, as well as follow up interviews with key actors during and after the events. The theoretical framework employed is based on a combination of Giles’ Communication Accommodation Theory, Hymes’s Ethnography of Communication and Myers-Scotton‘s Markedness Model. It is found that bilinguals who speak on behalf of families participating in the ceremonies often use codeswitching in innovative ways to convey various social messages. Significant uses were: (i) speakers use codeswitching to converge toward the speech of their in-laws in a bid to decrease the social and linguistic distance between the two families and (ii) they use it as a divergence strategy to, for instance, increase the social and linguistic distance between them when they wish to accentuate an ideological, or any other, difference between them. Overall, the study contributes towards insights about inter-group language practices in multilingual African settings, especially in urban areas.

Intergroup language attitudes and their sources: The case of Tehrani and Jonoub-Shahri Tehrani

The current study was aimed at investigating the language attitudes of Tehrani speakers (N = 188) toward an ingroup (Tehrani) and outgroup (JS Tehrani) variety. In doing so, a questionnaire of 10 scales was utilized. The 10 scales were later factor-analyzed into status, solidarity, and ethnic pride. Statistical analyses (i.e. ANOVA and Tukey) revealed that, firstly, each variety was rated differently across the 3 scales, and, on all three individual clusters, the two ingroup and outgroup varieties were judged differently. Whereas Tehrani was evaluated more favorably on status and ethnic pride scales, JS Tehrani was rated more positively on solidarity. The results were finally explained in light of the participants’ interview responses and sociocultural context of Tehran. The results of the present study might be useful in illustrating the under-explored area of language attitudes in Iran.

Literature and language: identity in African literature through new Englishes

There are strident voices against the continued use of English as an inter-group language in Nigeria and other African nations where the language serves as a second or foreign language, on the ground that the language is an alien language. The criticisms are more caustic in literary creations. To the cynics it is a misnomer to refer as ‘African’, a literary work whose medium of expression is English (a foreign language). The antagonists postulate that using English as the medium of African literary expression amounts to linguistic imperialism. They argue that for any literary work to be truly “African”, it has to be written in an African indigenous language. This paper has a contrary view. The paper is of the view that African literature has identity. It is distinct specie of literature ranking with European, Asian, American and other world literatures. This view is borne out of two reasons. One is that African literature has its origin in traditional African orature whose identity is not in doubt. Second, the ability of African creative writers to adapt and blend English to African environment – their ingenious, pragmatic, innovative, skilful and imaginative use of English – gives unique identity to African literature. The paper argues further that since the African language that commands universal intelligibility and acceptability in the continent and beyond is yet unborn, and since African writers can clearly express their thoughts in customized English without losing international intelligibility and acceptability, the language, for now and in the infinite future, remains the only variable medium of expression for African literature.

Effects of Intergroup Language on Eye-Tracking and Moment-to-Moment Responses in Race-Based Political Messages

This paper presents results from two separate experiments designed to explore the influence of intergroup messages on evaluations of an African American male political candidate. Participants were assigned to one of three experimental groups: one that invoked in-group language, one that invoked out-group language, and a control group. Audio messages were accompanied by a static image, consistent across conditions, that displayed the candidate and an interracial crowd. In one study, participants were instructed to move response dials (calibrated to 101-point scales) fluidly throughout the advertisement to correspond to their feelings about the content while in the other, visual fixations were recorded (for both location and duration). This paper offers a descriptive overview of the results of both studies, and a preview of future analyses and possibilities for additional exploration. These studies explore whether political communications that emphasize inclusive or exclusive group membership influence the way people watch and evaluate their politicians.

Futile Treatment in Hospital

Treatment that will not provide significant net benefit at the end of a person’s life (called futile treatment) is considered by many people to represent a major problem in the health sector, as it can waste resources and raise significant ethical issues. Medical treatment at the end of life involves a complex negotiation that implicates intergroup communication between health professionals, patients, and families, as well as between groups of health professionals. This study, framed by intergroup language theory, analyzed data from a larger project on futile treatment, in order to examine the intergroup language associated with futile treatment. Hospital doctors ( N = 96) were interviewed about their understanding of treatment given to adult patients at the end of life that they considered futile. We conducted a discourse analysis on doctors’ descriptions of futile treatment provided by themselves and their in-group and out-group colleagues. Results pointed to an intergroup context, with patients, families, and colleagues as out-groups. In their descriptions, doctors justified their own decisions using the language of logic, ethics, and respect. Patients and families, however, were characterized in terms of wishing and wanting, as were out-group colleagues. In addition, out-group doctors were described in strongly negative intergroup language.

Gay Men at Midlife

This study draws on interview data, a grounded theoretical methodology, and social identity theory concepts to explore how early midlife gay men manage their age identities through the use of linguistic labels, intragenerational talk among peers, and intergenerational talk with younger gay men. Face-to-face, semistructured interviews were conducted with 40 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse early midlife gay men (aged 40-53) in four U.S. cities. Men discussed conversations between themselves and gay men in their 20s, as well as the nature of their age identities. Open and axial coding of the men’s intra- and intergroup language use and other communicative behavior—with attention to accompanying motivations for engaging in such talk and nonverbal expression—revealed a new grounded theory of social identity management. Similarities and extensions to social identity theory were discussed, as were the theory’s implications for understanding gay midlife.

The politics of patient-centred care.

Despite widespread belief in the importance of patient-centred care, it remains difficult to create a system in which all groups work together for the good of the patient. Part of the problem may be that the issue of patient-centred care itself can be used to prosecute intergroup conflict. This qualitative study of texts examined the presence and nature of intergroup language within the discourse on patient-centred care. A systematic SCOPUS and Google search identified 85 peer-reviewed and grey literature reports that engaged with the concept of patient-centred care. Discourse analysis, informed by the social identity approach, examined how writers defined and portrayed various groups. Managers, physicians and nurses all used the discourse of patient-centred care to imply that their own group was patient centred while other group(s) were not. Patient organizations tended to downplay or even deny the role of managers and providers in promoting patient centredness, and some used the concept to advocate for controversial health policies. Intergroup themes were even more obvious in the rhetoric of political groups across the ideological spectrum. In contrast to accounts that juxtaposed in-groups and out-groups, those from reportedly patient-centred organizations defined a 'mosaic' in-group that encompassed managers, providers and patients. The seemingly benign concept of patient-centred care can easily become a weapon on an intergroup battlefield. Understanding this dimension may help organizations resolve the intergroup tensions that prevent collective achievement of a patient-centred system.

Interethnic relations and language variation: language use and identity negotiation among Namibian Coloureds and Whites in interactional settings.

In this paper we present a case study of interethnic relations through language variation involving two population groups supposedly belonging to one single speech community, namely the White and Coloured Afrikaans speakers of Namibia. The specific question that we wish to tackle in reference to that community is the extent to which Coloured and White identities are differentiable via linguistic means and how those identities are negotiated in intergroup settings where Coloured and White Afrikaans speakers are in mutual contact. The methodology used to answer this question is largely based on Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), which entails the characterization of intergroup language variation in terms of convergence, divergence and maintenance, as well as the characterization of speakers’ group identities in terms of ‘subordinate’ and ‘superordinate’ identities.

Ethnic, gender, and age preferences among deaf and hearing preschool peers.

The present study concerns ethnic, age, and gender playmate preferences of deaf and hearing preschoolers who were observed during outdoor free play at their respective schools over a 7-month period. Hispanic, black, and white children were included. It was hypothesized that peer preferences would be less apparent among deaf children than among hearing children if these preferences were based on (a) language differences between ethnic groups (e.g., Spanish-English differences), age groups (e.g., verbal fluency differences), or gender groups; or (b) cultural values communicated by speech. Both deaf and hearing children preferred to play with children of the same ethnicity, gender, and age as themselves. In addition, play among children of the same ethnicity, gender, and age was qualitatively different from play among children of different ethnicity, gender, and age. The only effect of deafness was to decrease the amount of gender segregation that occurred. The results suggest that the development of ethnic, gender, and age playmate preferences is not dependent on intergroup language differences or spoken cultural messages. Several nonlinguistic factors that might contribute to early peer preferences are discussed.