Journal of Language
and Social Psychology
http://jls.sagepub.com/
How Do Chinese Bilinguals Respond To Variations of Interviewer Language and Ethnicity?
Herbert D. Pierson and Michael H. Bond
Journal of Language and Social Psychology 1982 1: 123
DOI: 10.1177/0261927X8200100203
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HOW DO CHINESE BILINGUALS RESPOND
TO VARIATIONS OF INTERVIEWER
LANGUAGE AND ETHNICITY?
Herbert D. Pierson and Michael H. Bond
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Do Chinese bilinguals change their non-verbal behaviours when they
speaking English as opposed to Cantonese and speaking with Americans as
opposed to fellow Chinese? In order to answer these questions, 64 female English
majors at the Chinese University were video-taped during a standardised
interview in either Cantonese or English by an interviewer of American or
Chinese ethnicity. Measures of self-perception and perception of the interviewer
were also taken to illuminate the meaning of the potential changes in non-verbal
behaviour. The language and ethnicity variables had functionally different
impacts on the non-verbal behaviours: the higher speed, less frequent use of
filled pauses, and increased gazing when using Cantonese are suggestive of its
greater redundancy relative to English; the lesser talking combined with
Abstract
are
increased smiles and torso shifts emitted with the American interviewers were
with the higher potency and greater informality with which the
Americans were perceived by these bilinguals. The American interviewers were
relatively less fluent using Cantonese than were interviewers in the other
conditions. Perceiving this lesser skill, the interviewees accommodated by
downgrading their self-ratings of second language fluency and by increasing their
frequency of filled pauses while answering.
compatible
How Do Chinese Bilinguals
Respond To Variations of Interviewer Language and
Ethnicity?
We American Chinese girls had to whisper to make ourselves Americanfeminine.... We invented an American-feminine speaking personality.
Maxine Hong Kingston in The Roman Warrior.
Although rigorous comparisons are scarce (LaFrance & Mayo, 1978), it is
widely believed that members of different cultures use different non-verbal codes
when communicating in their native languages. Studying these codes, many
researchers have compared the non-verbal behaviour of bilinguals when speaking
their first and second languages. The rationale is made explicit by LaCroix &
Rioux
(1978):
123
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124
If the learning of a tongue implies not only the learning of the language, but
also the learning of a cognitive and cultural gestalt of which the language is
only one manifestation, then bilinguals should show different non-verbal
behaviours in the two languages where they are competent. (p. 131).
Studies within this tradition vary
considerably in their methodological
that it becomes difficult to place much confidence in some of
the conclusions. Of the published studies, some have shown differences (Elzinga,
1978; Ervin-Tripp, 1964; Gallois & Markel, 1975; Grujic &
Libby, 1978a; von
Raffler-Engel, 1976); others have not (LaCroix & Rioux, 1978; Weins et al.,
1976). One major problem in understanding these conflicting results arises from
the failure of most experimenters to manipulate the ethnicity of the bilingual’s
partner or audience while manipulating the language being spoken. It would
indeed be surprising if the partner’s ethnicity had no impact on the bilingual’s
non-verbal repertoire; interactions between persons of differing ethnicity often
introduce the status differences characterising relations between the two ethnic
groups which the interactants represent. These status differences will of course
have consequences for the non-verbal features of their interaction (see e.g., Bond
& Ho, 1978; Thakerar et al., 1982). Obviously, then, one cannot know whether
and how the variables of interaction language and interlocutor ethnicity function
until both are varied simultaneously and dependent measures taken across a wide
spectrum of non-verbal behaviours.
A study by Grujic & Libby (1978a) attempted just such a separation. Their
subjects were French-Canadian bilinguals from Ontario who conversed in French
or English with confederates identified as ethnically French- or EnglishCanadian. The bilinguals were video-taped while they both asked and answered
pre-selected questions chosen to stimulate conversation. Measures of interpersonal distance, hand movements, gazing, smiling, and time talking were then
taken from the tapes and related to the language/ethnicity variation.
Significant effects were due almost entirely to the language of the interaction
rather than to the ethnicity of the partner. A number of problems in the
presentation of their study make this conclusion premature, however. It is
impossible to tell from their report if the confederates’ behaviour was
standardised in any way, whether the confederates were in fact ethnically French
or English, or the confederates’ degree of fluency in their two languages.
Furthermore, the length of the interactions was not controlled, so some of the
findings may have been a function of the interaction length rather than a result of
the language used. Clearly, a conceptual replication with some methodological
tightening is needed.
A 2 x 2 design which carefully varies both language and partner ethnicity may
also be instructive in exploring the dynamics of speech accommodation (Giles &
Smith, 1979; Thakerar et Rl., 1982). Work in this area centres on the assumption
that people use variations in speaking patterns and other non-verbal behaviours
to alter communication efficiency and to transmit interpersonal attitudes towards
their interlocutors (von Raffler-Engel, 1978). This communication can take place
through the content of the speech itself or through paralinguistic and other nonsophistication,
so
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125
verbal behaviours. The direction of these changes can be towards the speaking
patterns of the interlocutor (convergence) or in the opposite direction
(divergence). Changes in evaluation of the interlocutor will often accompany
these acts of convergence or divergence (e.g., Giles et al., 1973).
Whether convergence or divergence occurs during encounters across ethnic
lines will depend on a number of factors including the intentions of the speaker
(Bourhis & Giles, 1977), the salience of the intergroup difference (Bourhis et al.,
1979), and the importance of the issue discussed for one’s group identity (Bond &
Yang, 1982). The relative dominance of one group over the other is undoubtedly
important as well (Tajfel, 1978). For, when a member of the higher status group
uses the lower status language to a bilingual member of that group, this act will
probably be seen as accommodating or at least respectful and should be met with
some form of accommodation in return (Simard et al., 1976). Conversely, when a
member of the lower status group uses the higher status language to a fellow
bilingual, this act may be seen as insulting to the ingroup and be met with
divergence or some form of ethnic affirmation (Yang & Bond, 1980). Either of
these occurrences would be indicated by elevated scores in the cells of the 2 x 2
design where partner ethnicity and language were not consistent.
Hong Kong is an ideal place to explore these status-related issues of
convergence and divergence. Ninety-eight per cent of Hong Kong’s population is
Chinese and the vast majority speak Cantonese, the main dialect of Kwangtung
Province, China. As a British Crown Colony, however, English is the prestige
language used almost exclusively in government. Furthermore, Westerners,
British and American in particular, are disproportionately represented in the
higher echelons of government and business, a reality reflected in the students’
stereotype of the typical English-speaking person as more powerful (Gibbons,
1982; Lyczak et al., 1976; Pierson & Fu, 1982). Nevertheless, the social and
political situation is harmonious and the local Chinese have retained a strong
sense of their ethnic integrity (Lyczak et al., 1976; Yang &
Bond, 1980). This
context
would
thus
seem
ideal
as
a
for
intergroup
backdrop
exploring changes in
non-verbal behaviours arising from variations in language and partner ethnicity.
As a first step, a non-threatening interview situation was used because it permits
an adequate standardisation of the confederate-interviewer’s behaviour.
In summary, the primary aim of the present research is to separate the variables
of language and interlocutor ethnicity in order to assess their separate effects on
perceptual responses and non-verbal behaviours. By so doing, it was hoped that
we might also shed some light on speech accommodation processes in Hong Kong
bilinguals.
Method
Subjects
It
necessary to select subjects who were sufficiently skilled and fluent in
an interview comfortably. It was also important to choose
English
native speakers of Cantonese who had interacted with native speakers of English,
was
to handle
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126
that differences in non-verbal repertoires could have been noticed and
mastered.
To meet these criteria, 64 female undergraduates from The Chinese University
of Hong Kong were recruited from the English Department. All these volunteers
were in their second, third or fourth year of a programme where over Z/3’s of the
staff were either American or British in origin. Furthermore, over 80% had
completed their secondary education in an English-medium secondary school.
On the criteria of both fluency and exposure, then, these subjects made suitable
interviewees.
so
Interviewers
The
experimental design required two groups of interviewers whose ethnicity
corresponded to the two languages being compared. Furthermore, we believed
that they should be older than their interviewees to reinforce the status
distinctions implicit in the interview situation. Finally, they should be sufficiently
fluent in their second language to make their use of this language during the
interview appear reasonable and effective.
This last criterion presented some problem. Cantonese is a difficult language,
rarely studied by foreigners before they arrive in Hong Kong. After considerable
searching, however, two American males were selected, both in their second year
of studying Cantonese. Two Chinese male counterparts, actually fourth year
undergraduates, were then chosen to complete the team of four interviewers. All
were between the ages of 22 and 25; they were paid an hourly wage for their
participation.
Sex
Composition of the Interview Dyads
Males were chosen as interviewers and females as interviewees for two reasons.
sex composition reinforces the power differential implicit in the
interview situation. As Chinese and American cultures differ in their orientation
to power (Hofstede, 1980), the chances of seeing effects on the independent
variables are maximised. Secondly,. the male-female mix introduces heterosexual
considerations into the interaction. Again American and Chinese cultures differ
widely on this dimension (Hsu, 1949), maximising the chances of observing an
impact for the ethnicity and language variables.
First, this
Training the Interviewers
It
.
essential for the interviewers to standardise their non-verbal behaviour
the
interviews. Otherwise the subjects’ own non-verbal responses would
during
be influenced by the variation in the non-verbal styles of the different
interviewers. This variation could well inflate the experimental error and, if such
variation were related to interviewer ethnicity, mask or accentuate ethnicity
effects.
To this end, the interviewers were given a brief survey of the various classes of
was
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127
non-verbal behaviour. They were then coached on a standardised procedure for
their paralinguistic, kinesic, and gazing- behaviour during the interview.
Specifically, they were instructed to sit facing the subject with both feet on the
floor, keeping all movement to a minimum. They were to look at their interview
sheet when asking questions but to fixate the subject’s eyes when she held the
floor. Interviewers were asked to give subjects 10 seconds to answer a question,
and to wait 5 seconds after the answer, before moving to the next question.
Interviewers were advised not to nod, smile, laugh or otherwise reinforce the
subject when she was speaking. The intent of these guidelines was to standardise
the interviewer’s behaviour while communicating an attentive and moderately
serious impression.
Finally, the interviewers were asked to spend some time practising this
procedure with one another. They were also encouraged to acquaint themselves
thoroughly with the interview questions so that they would make as few errors as
possible during their questioning of the subjects.
Procedure
-
Contacting the subjects. Due to their varying schedules, both subject and
interviewer had to consult by phone in order to arrange a satisfactory time for the
interview. The interviewer conducted their conversation in the language to be
used in the interview.
Pre-interview. Upon arriving, the subject was escorted to the interview room by
the interviewer. This room was uncluttered, about 5 x 7 m, and relatively soundproof. The subject was seated in a chair placed in front of that of the interviewer.
Slightly to the right of the interviewer was a video-camera, aimed at the subject.
To her left was a table with a tape-recorder in one corner.
Before the interview began, the subject was asked to fill out a questionnaire
providing information about her language training, fluency in English, and
overseas experience. This questionnaire took about five minutes to complete
during which time it was hoped the subject would adapt to her new surroundings,
in particular the video-camera.
The Interview. The interviewer collected the questionnaire and turned on the
tape- and video-recorder. He then gave a standardised introduction which
presented the interview topic, encouraged the subject to take her time, and
permitted her to sidestep any question she found uncomfortable. The interviewer
then proceeded through the questions in order, terminating the interview after
five minutes had elapsed on his stop watch since the beginning of the
introduction.
Two interview topics were used, viz., friendship and Chinese-American
relations on campus. These topics obviously vary in terms of their relevance to the
ethnic identities of the participants. Should non-verbal and perceptual responses
be robust across these two interview topics, however, some confidence could then
be placed in the generalisability of effects.
Post-Interview. The interviewer turned off the recorders and gave the subject
two rating forms, one for her self-perceptions during the interview, the other for
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128
her perceptions of the interviewer. These forms were written in the language used
during the interview. In order to reinforce the stated confidentiality of these
measures, the interviewer left the room while the subject completed the forms.
She then put the two sheets into an envelope, sealed it, put it in a box, and left the
room.
Outside, the interviewer thanked the
dismissed her.
subject
for her
co-operation
and
The Interview Schedule
The questions were written in English and translated into Chinese. They were
then back-translated to assess linguistic equivalence. Changes were made in the
original English version until comparable versions were obtained. The Chinese
interviewers then helped teach the American interviewers the correct
pronunciation of the Cantonese version of the questions.
Overview of the
Design
There were two languages used, Cantonese and English; four interviewers, two
Americans and two Chinese; two interview topics, friendship and ChineseWestern relations. This yielded a 2 x 4 x 2 design, with four subjects in each of
the 16 conditions.
Dependent Variables
Self-perceptions. Twenty, bi-polar scales were selected in an effort to tap the
fundamental dimensions of interpersonal attractiveness, power, activity,
nervousness, and competence (Bond, 1979). They were respectively by the above
dimensions;
lovable-unattractive, friendly-unapproachable, deep-shallow;
strong-weak, important-insignificant, respectable-lowly, confident-shy; alertsleepy, energetic-tired; free-restrained, spontaneous-conforming, involvedbored, relaxed-tense, forthright-inhibited; fluent-halting, precise-vague, awareinsensitive, responsive-unresponsive to the reactions of the interviewer,
insightful-commonplace. The contrast between direct and indirect was also
tapped, as it probes what is often regarded as a classic Chinese-Western
difference in approach. These contrasting adjective pairs were placed at either
end of seven-point Likert scales, preceded by the adverb ’very’.
Subjects were asked to rate confidentially how they felt during the interview.
To reinforce the stated confidentiality, subjects completed the questionnaires in
private, sealed the forms in an envelope, and mixed it into a box of other like
envelopes.
Perceptions of the interviewer. The same 20 scales and format were provided for
the subject’s similarly confidential rating of her interviewer.
Paralinguistic measures. The audio-tapes provided a variety of measures
considered worthy of examination. Since the interviews varied somewhat in
length, only the first four minutes following the interviewer’s first question were
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129
analysed. The variables examined are listed below:
1. Speech rate
the total number of syllables uttered per second of speaking
-
time.
2. Unfilled pause
frequency the number of discernible, unfilled pauses per
second of speaking time.
3. Average length of unfilled pause.
4. Average response latency
average time between the interviewer’s
and
the
question
subject’s first word of response (’ah’, ’um’, etc. excluded).
5. Total speaking time
number of seconds during which the subject was
Filled
and
unfilled
speaking.
pauses were excluded.
6. Code switching
the number of interviewees who used any English at all
during a Cantonese interview or any Cantonese during an English
-
-
-
-
interview.
7. Filled pause
the number of discernible filled pauses (e.g.,
frequency
second
of speaking time.
‘um’, ’ah’, ’geh’, etc.) per
Kinesic measures. The following measures were taken from the video-tapes:
1. Torso shifts
-
-
total movements of the torso
2.
3.
more
than 15
cm.
This type of
during major posture change.
typically
Self-manipulation of the hands the number of seconds during which the
hand is in moving contact with some part of the body.
Gestures of the hands
proportion of the time when the subject is
speaking that she is making some hand movement whose amplitude is
movement
a
occurs
-
-
greater than 3
Other non-verbal
cm.
measures.
video-tapes:
1. Smiling
a frequency
2. Gazing while talking
-
These additional
count of each
measures are
taken from the
separate episode.
proportion of time the subject gazes at the
interviewer while she is holding the floor (i.e., speaking plus pausing).
3. Gazing while listening
the proportion of time the subject gazes at the
interviewer when he holds the floor (i.e., while he is asking a question).
These 13 non-verbal behaviours were tapped because they cover the major
types typically sampled in contemporary research and are amenable to reliable
measurement (Duncan &
Fiske, 1977; Mehrabian, 1972).
-
the
-
Reducing ~xpe~°i~aer~ter Bias
Whenever possible, the video-tapes were scored without sound. One of the two
experimenters would have to move the tape into starting position, thus learning
the subject’s language and interviewer condition. The other experimenter would
leave the room at this time, however, effectively blinding him. The scorers
alternated this procedure throughout the scoring, so that only one of the two
scorers knew the subject’s experimental condition. As no hypotheses had been
made before hand, this limitation is not regarded as a problem.
The
study.
transcribed by an assistant, blind to the purposes of the
She also scored the pauses and response latencies at this time. Another
audio-tapes were
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130
naive assistant counted the number of syllables uttered
by the subject from these
transcriptions.
Results
Reliability of the Non-verbal
Behaviours
Pearson product-moment correlations
reliabilities for the non-verbal measures.
Table 1
All
Inter-judge Reliability
were
judged
to
be
were run
to establish the
inter-judge
of Non-verbal Behaviours
acceptable for further analysis.
Analyses of Variance
As there were two languages, four interviewers and two topics, 2 x 4 x 2
ANOVA’S were run on each of the dependent variables.- Individuals were, of
course, nested within the ethnicity grouping. The F value reported for the
ethnicity variable was obtained by extracting that portion of the interviewer
variance contributed by the ethnicity grouping. All reported F values had 1 and 48
degrees of freedom.
Interviewer
Identity
Two interviewers from each ethnic group were included in the design to ensure
that results had some claim to generalisability across interviewers from that ethnic
group. The means indicated that the impact of ethnicity was the same for each
interviewer from the Chinese and American groups for each of the significant
effects reported below. For affected dependent variables, an interviewer of a
given ethnicity yielded a mean score which was closer to the other interviewer of
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131
ethnicity
his
than it
to
was
the
mean
from the interviewers of the other ethnic
group.
The
Topic Variable
There
effects for this variable. These are not of immediate
the present study, however, except as the topic variable might have
interacted with the language or ethnicity variables. In none of the effects reported
below was there any evidence for such interactions.
were numerous
concern to
Language
Effects
The language effects
listed below.
across
the three
categories
of
dependent
variable
are
,
Table 2
a’This is
a
Language
Effects for
Categories
of
Dependent Variables
chi-square value.
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132
Ethnicity Effects
The
Table 3
ethnicity effects found are similarly listed below.
Ethnicity Effects for Categories of Dependent Variables
interactions between
Language and Ethnicity
Subjects rated their fluency in speaking English before they were actually
interviewed. This rating interacted with the language and ethnicity variables, F =
4.27, p<0.05. The interaction was produced by the lowered self-rating of English
fluency when interviewees anticipated an interview in Cantonese with an
American. The cell mean in this condition was different from that in all three
other conditions at the 0.05 level.
Self-perceptions of strength showed an interaction effect, F 5.60, p<0.025,
such that the bilingual interviewees felt stronger working in Cantonese with an
American interviewer or in English with a Chinese interviewer compared to the
other two combinations. Given the subjects’ language skills relative to those of
their interviewers, this result is hardly unexpected.
There was an interaction for ratings of interviewers’ precision, F
5.33,
p<0.025. Not surprisingly, interviewers were seen as more precise when using
their first language compared to their second language. As might also have been
anticipated, ratings of interviewer fluency showed an interaction, F 7.37,
p<0.01. Analysing for simple main effects across the language variable revealed
that the American interviewers were perceived as less fluent in Cantonese than in
English, F 5.58, p<0.02~. The Chinese interviewers were seen as no less fluent
in English than Cantonese, ~<l.
On the non-verbal measures, language and ethnicity interacted for filled pause
frequency, F 5.34p<0.025. When speaking Cantonese, bilingual Chinese used
pause fillers more frequently with Americans than with Chinese interviewers, F =
6.25, p<0.025; the ethnicity variable had no impact when English was being
spoken, F’< 1.
=
=
=
=
=
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133
Discussion
The major purpose of this study was to disentangle the variables of interlocutor
ethnicity and language in order to assess their separate effects. By using an
extensive battery of non-verbal indicators, we were additionally able to
determine if these variables have similar or different functional impacts. As the
present study is the first adequately reported research to meet these two
conditions, only tentative generalisations can be drawn.
First, both the ethnicity and the language variables can have considerable
impact on non-verbal and perceptual indicators. Studies which confound these
variables therefore present the problems of interpretation suggested in the
introduction to this study.
Secondly, in .the non-verbal realm these impacts appear to be functionally
distinct as there was no overlap in the variables affected. Those attempting
replications of this design for other groups and languages are therefore
encouraged to retain the multivariate approach to measurement adopted here.
At this early stage we do not know what these non-verbal changes
communicate to observers of the two ethnic groups or whether they represent
convergence towards, or divergence from, the non-verbal style of the out-group.
Further, it is too early to be sure which of the non-verbal changes would be found
in comparisons between any two languages or between any two ethnic groups. In
our discussion below, we speculate about the factors which may have given rise to
the effects observed in this particular study.
Language Effects
When speaking English rather than Cantonese with partners of both Chinese
and American ethnicity, our bilingual interviewees interrupted their speech more
frequently with both filled and unfilled pauses, gazed at the interviewer a smaller
portion of the time when he was speaking, and spoke more slowly. Before
analysing the meaning of such differences in non-verbal behaviour, an important
conceptual issue must be considered. Our bilinguals were English majors, but not
equally fluent in their second language as compared with Cantonese. Could some
or all of these non-verbal differences have reflected their relative fluency in
Cantonese compared to English? If so, the obtained differences would not be
informative about non-verbal changes which arise from a change of language in
and of itself.
Readers will recall that all subjects rated their fluency in speaking English. For
those in the English interviews, this self-rating correlated significantly with the
total time they talked, r (30)
0.62, p<0.01, and with the frequency of unfilled
pausing, r (30) 0.44, ~<0.0~5. Self-rated fluency, however, did not correlate
with gazing at the interviewer when he was talking, with frequency of filled
pauses, or with speed of speaking. Such an outcome suggests that these three nonverbal differences across languages did not arise because our bilinguals were
relatively less fluent in English. Rather, they appear to be manifestations of
different non-verbal styles associated with Cantonese and English.
=
=
’
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134
That English is spoken with less speed and more pausing suggests that it may be
characterised as a denser, less repetitive encoding tool than Cantonese. As such,
it requires a slower delivery with more frequent pauses to ensure efficient
decoding. This hypothesis is consistent with our bilinguals’ looking a lesser
portion of the time at an English-speaking interlocutor; looking at others
produces additional non-linguistic input which probably interferes with decoding
a tightly textured language. Consequently, looking away from a speaker
addressing you in your second language may be a strategy developed in the early
stages of second language learning to avoid this distraction. Such a non-verbal
style might then persist well after the second language has been mastered. If so,
then further studies comparing bilinguals using any two languages should show
such a difference in the second language.
These differences in non-verbal behaviour were, however, uncorrelated with
the way bilinguals felt when speaking English or to the way they perceived an
English-speaking interviewer. None of the non-verbal variables showing
language effects was correlated with any of the feeling or perceptual measures
showing language effects. These non-verbal changes when using English would
seem to be independent of one’s own reaction to using the language and
independent of one’s reaction to a conversational partner using that language.
This finding strengthens the argument that the non-verbal differences between
the languages reflect codes associated with the languages themselves and not with
situational factors surrounding the language use.
What do the perceptual data suggest about the use of English by Chinese
bilinguals? Self-reports indicated that our speakers felt more restrained, shy, and
tense when using English. These feeling states appear to reflect an inhibition
factor, hardly surprising when one reflects that English is a second language. In
addition, however, our subjects reported feeling more respectable and aware
when using English. These feelings suggest greater authority, perhaps reflecting
the prestige surrounding the English language in the colonial situation
characterising Hong Kong.
When speaking English, our interviewers were perceived as more sleepy, tired,
and bored. This perception of relative inactivity may reflect the lesser speed with
which English is spoken, a finding discussed above in comparing its non-verbal
features with Cantonese. The greater perceived respectability of interviewers
using English is consistent with the greater status surrounding speakers using
English. Regardless of that speaker’s ethnic background, English-speaking
persons are likely to be better educated and hold more prestigious jobs in Hong
Kong.
Ethnicity Effects
Before considering the ethnicity effects, we must address the issue of
generalisability. Specifically, there were only two American and two Cantonese
interviewers, so how much confidence can be placed in the ethnicity effects when
applied to a whole range of American or Cantonese male partners? We believe
the results are reasonable first approximations because they generalised across
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135
specific personalities of the interviewers in each ethnic group and because the
perceptual results are consistent with previous findings in Hong Kong using the
matched guise methodology (Lyczak et al., 1976; Gibbons, 1982). These
investigators have found that English speakers are perceived as higher on a
the
power-competence-status dimension than are Chinese speakers. Using the
present interactive methodology, we have found that the American interviewers
are seen as stronger, more respectable, and more confident than the Chinese
interviewers, a similar clear difference along the potency dimension.
What then does the pattern of results for the ethnicity variable reveal? In
addition to the perceived higher potency of the Americans, they were also
regarded as more spontaneous, relaxed, and free. This grouping would appear to
tap a dimension of extroversion, a salient component of perception across
cultures (Bond, 1979; Osgood et cal., 1975). This difference in perception has not
emerged from the matched guise
not tapped.
studies because the dimension
was
apparently
The differences in non-verbal behaviour displayed towards Americans
compared to Chinese interviewers are consistent with these differences in
impressions. Talking a lesser proportion of the time to the American interviewers
suggests the greater deference seen in the perceptual measures. Likewise, smiling
and shifting the torso more are compatible with the greater naturalness the
American interviewers were perceived as communicating. Of course increased
smiling and shifting could be construed as reflections of general nervousness.
Observing the tapes, however, our clear impression was that our Chinese
bilinguals had been ’released’ from the stiffness that characterised their
behaviour with the Chinese interviewers. Their self-perception as feeling more
direct with the Americans fits this construction of the data. Such interpretations
must be regarded as tentative, however, because again there were no significant
correlations between these critical non-verbal behaviours and the significant
perceptual measures.
Support for Speech Accommodation Theory
A
secondary interest animating the present study was to explore the dynamics
speech accommodation. What evidence does the present research provide?
A salient goal in an interview situation is that of transmitting information. In
this regard the problem condition for our Chinese bilinguals occurred when they
were interviewed by Americans in Cantonese. The initial telephone contact
established that the Americans wished to use Cantonese, but undoubtedly made
their lack of complete fluency clear. This impression of linguistic difficulty was
reinforced during the interview. The interviewees frequently requested
clarification and, as reported earlier, rated the Americans as significantly less
fluent in Cantonese than in English. This state of affairs made salient what
Thakerar et al. (1982) have called the function of cognitive organisation
the
need to adjust one’s speech in light of the listener’s perceived capacity to receive.
Such was not the case when the interviewees were working with the Chinese
interviewers in English; in most cases the interviewers were as skilled in English
of
-
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136
the English majors they interviewed.
How then did the subjects respond to the problem of communicating with a
less-than-fluent American using Cantonese? To begin with, they converged by
estimating their own fluency in English as low. This relative downgrading of their
own skills probably prepared the interviewee for coping charitably with the
difficulties ahead; a person who regards herself as less skilled is likely to be more
sympathetic towards someone struggling for mastery than is someone who
regards herself as highly competent.
During the interview itself, Cantonese bilinguals broke up their speech units
with filled pauses more when working in Cantonese with Americans. They also
slowed down their speed of speaking Cantonese by 8.4%, even though this
reduction was not statistically significant. Both changes functioned to assist the
interviewer in decoding their meaning by giving him more time.
Language switching was not used as an accommodating strategy we believe,
because the power differential implicit in the interview format allowed the
interviewer to dictate which language was to be used. Having accepted the
language code during the initial telephone contact, the interviewee was at pains to
protect the interviewer’s face by continuing to work in that language. Her
accommodation was effected in a less obvious fashion by slowing down the
density of meaningful discourse she produced.
Despite the obvious effort the American interviewers made in using
Cantonese, there were no indications that the interviewees evaluated them more
positively for this act of convergence. Nor was there any devaluation of the
Chinese interviewers who diverged by using English. A similar lack of evaluative
changes was also observed in Grujic & Libby’s (1978b) study. Simard ee al. (1976)
have argued persuasively for the importance of considering the interlocutor’s
attributions for the second language choice. Unfortunately, we did not assess why
the interviewees thought the interviewers used the language they did. When their
help was initially solicited, the interview was introduced as part of a research
programme, however. We believe the obvious attribution to make in such a
situation is that the interviewer has been required to speak the language he is
using. Under such conditions, the language selected communicates no
interpersonal attitude to the interviewee and therefore elicits no reciprocal
change in evaluative response.
Not setting out primarily to explore speech accommodation theory, we have
undoubtedly overlooked some potentially revealing dependent variables.
Measures of speech complexity, clarity of pronunciation, ethnocentric content
and so forth might also have shown effects. Likewise other perceptual measures
could have been used. In fact the potential breadth of the theory is daunting and
suggests that it may be time to begin considering what types of variables will be
affected by what types of manipulations.
as were
Conducting Remarks
This research has indicated that both language and ethnicity can be functionally
distinct and powerful determinants of non-verbal behaviours and person
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137
in this type of structured interaction. Whether this outcome will
found
be
always
probably depends on the language and ethnicities sampled.
Further research using this paradigm is thus encouraged to provide information
on the following issues:
perception
1. How does the non-verbal code of different languages vary? This issue has
received little systematic attention by linguists and is important for teachers of
second languages who aspire to train for more than verbal facility alone.
2. How do variations in power differences between ethnic groups influence
the process and outcomes of such interactions? The vast majority of work in
non-verbal communication has involved only minor and unrealistic variations
in status, so that the present approach can be used to make our psychology
more social and representative.
3. How do the language and ethnicity variables function in more natural
intergroup contexts? Ickes (1982) has argued persuasively for loosening the
amount of experimental control exercised over dyadic encounters in the
laboratory. Such a relaxation may give us a more accurate picture of typical
interaction by allowing objective characteristics of the different ethnicities to
exercise fuller impact.
4. This research pushed forward our understanding of how interlocutors
manage an interaction with a less-than-fluent bilingual. Such contacts are
legion in today’s world, but we know very little about how communication
changes with variations in partner fluency nor how it should change to achieve
greater efficiency. This practical problem deserves more attention.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to express their appreciation for funding from the Institute of
Social Studies and the Humanities of the Chinese University. We are also grateful
for the ever cheerful co-operation from the statistician of the University’s Social
Research Centre, Suet-ming Hsu. Detailed and thoughtful comments on the first
version of this report were provided by Miles Hewstone, this Journal’s editor, and
two
anonymous reviewers. Their professional colleagueship helped
immeasurably.
in
Our thanks to Ng Sau Mei and
scoring the tapes.
Wong Chau Hing for their conscientious efforts
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