Language: Much neglectd yet important

in cross-cultural psychology?

Language: Much neglectd yet important

in cross-cultural psychology?

Itesh SachdevItesh SachdevSOAS, University of London, UKSOAS, University of London, UK

Presentation at 19th International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology Presentation at 19th International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP), Bremen, Germany, July 2008.(IACCP), Bremen, Germany, July 2008.

Plan Today• Introduction to culture, language &

identity• Conceptual framing, definitions etc• A little data from sunny bilingual

Tunisia• Concluding notes

“Language”, “Culture” & “Identity” in JCCP (1970-2008)

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (1970-2008, 180+ issues)

In Titles (n=2000+)

Keywords

“Culture” & “Cultural”

176342

5969

“Language” & “Linguistic”

34 3

“Identity” 24 9

“Language”, “Culture”, & identity in JCCP (1970-2008) & Bremen IACCP

(2008) Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (1970-2008, 180+ issues)

Bremen IACCP (2008)

In Titles (n=2000+)

Keywords

Symposium Titles (n= 100+)

In Abstracts

“Culture” & “Cultural”

176342

5969

1310

9072201

“Language” & “Linguistic”

34 3 1 227 (15 in titles)

“Identity” 24 9 4 275

Definitions & framing• Language:

Includes languages, dialects, accents, speech styles & even non-verbal communication

• Identity (group/cultural):‘…the individual's knowledge that s/he belongs to certain social groups together with the emotional and value significance to her/him of the group membership’ (Tajfel & Turner, 1986)

What contributes to distinctive cultural identity?

Clothes? Geographic origin? ethnic origin? Religion? Food? Values? Occupation?...etc

Much previous research:….language is perhaps the most

important - even more than ‘cultural background’ and geographic origin, MDS studies by Giles et al in Wales, Canada & USA

Language & Cultural Identity(i) “It is important to learn Gujarati to

understand our culture. We have to keep Gujarati alive. By learning Gujarati we can keep our identity.” (Gujarati Interviewee of Creese et al, 2006, Language and Education).

(ii) “Mexican-Americans who can’t speak Spanish should CHOKE on their CHILLI BEANS” - New York subway graffiti

(iii) “Our languages are the cornerstone of who we are as a People. Without our languages our cultures cannot survive”

- Assembly of First Nations, 1990

Previous research…(i) ‘Language is the place where actual

and possible forms of social organization and their likely social and political consequences are defined and contested. Yet it is also the place where our sense of ourselves, our subjectivity, is constructed’ (p. 21, Weedon, 1997),

(ii) “…relationship between language and identity is not static and varies as a function of the power relations ...” (Sachdev & Bourhis, 1990)

(iii)… next… a model of multilingual communication (Sachdev & Bourhis, 2001; Sachdev & Giles, 2004)

MACROINTERGROUP

CONTEXT

- Ethnolinguistic vitality ofgroups

-State language policies- & Ideologies

- Stability, legitimacy of intergroup stratification

MICROSOCIOLINGUISTIC

SETTING

- Norms & rules

- Networks of linguistic contact

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL

PROCESSES

- Similarity-Attraction

- Social Exchange

- Social Attribution

- Intelligibility

- Predictability

- Social identification

- Stereotyping

- Vitality Beliefs

- Acculturation Beliefs

EVALUATION &BEHAVIOUR

- speech accommodation

- discourse- Non-verbal

Additive-Subtractive

Multilingualism &Multiculturalism

Language & CultureMaintenance & Shift

Response to French AND Arabic use in streets of Bilingual Tunisia (Lawson &

Sachdev, 1995, 2000)Method & procedure: Trained Tunisian

Researchers made requests from 1000 Tunisian Arab pedestrians randomly in streets of city

Excuse me, where is the post office?

IVs: (i) Language of Question - Arabic or French

(ii) Ethnic Background of Tunisian Researchers - Arab, European & African

DVs: (i) Language of response – convergence, divergence or code-switching

Response to French AND Arabic use in streets of Bilingual

Tunisia (n = 1000+, Lawson & Sachdev, 1995, 2000)

66

28

6

0

20

40

60

80

100

Tunisian Arab-Tunisian Arab

Cultural & Ethnic backgrounds of interactants

ConvergenceCode-SwitchDivergence

Response to French AND Arabic use in streets of bilingual

Tunisia (n = 1000+, Lawson & Sachdev, 1995, 2000)

66

87

28

96 40

20

40

60

80

100

Tunisian Arab-TunisianArab

Tunisian European-Tunisian Arab

Cultural & Ethnic background of interactants

ConvergenceCode-SwitchDivergence

Response to French AND Arabic use in streets of bilingual Tunisia (n = 1000+, Lawson & Sachdev,

1995, 2000)

66

87

53

28

916 4

46

0

20

40

60

80

100

Tunisian Arab-Tunsian Arab

TunsisianEuropean-

Tunsian Arab

TunisianAfrican-Tunisian

Arab

Cultural & Ethnic backgrounds of interactants

ConvergenceCode-SwitchDivergence

Concluding notes…Ignore language(s) at your peril!!- Language-Culture-Identity intertwined- Effects on intercultural & intergroup

communication, acculturation, etc, etc- Language use reflects AND creates

cultural identity- Language is key to expressing,

conceptualising and constructing indigenous cultures and knowledge

- ……. Methodologically, focus on language allows actual behavioural study… good for cross-cultural/social psychologists, (etc) whose mainstay is paper and pencil measures…