Attribution Processes and Interpersonal Accommodation in a Bilingual Setting

Abstract

A theory of interpersonal accommodation has proposed that if a member of one ethnolinguistic group adopts the language of the other group member, this will evoke positive attitudes in the other and also result in that ethnic member making an effort to accommodate back to the initiator. The present study was designed to demonstrate that using the other's language may not necessarily lead to positive evaluation and reciprocal accommodation. Guided by attribution theory, three conditions were created involving English Canadians who spoke French or English to French Canadian subjects: (1) Subjects were given no information about the language capacity of the English Canadian speaker, (2) the speaker was externally pressured to use French or English, and (3) Subjects were aware that the speaker was capable of speaking French. The results demonstrated that the accommodation model was not sufficient in its original form to account for language choice in all contexts and an elaboration was suggested in attribution terms.