Lexical choice as an index of acculturation : fifteen case studies.
Date
1972
Authors
Courtney, Maureen Rosemary
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Culture shock has its counterpart in language. Immigrants take over the language of their host country, all other things being equal, in proportion to the extent to which they wish to identify with its culture and people. Vocabulary, which is the most mobile linguistic element, is the most sensitive indicator of this tendency, especially when the two languages concerned are otherwise structurally similar, as in the case of the British and Canadian varieties of English.
Fifteen informants, all women from Northern counties of England, who had lived in Victoria, British Columbia, for at least two years, were asked to give their own usage for almost five hundred items (mostly nouns) of everyday familiarity, with a largely domestic content. A small group of four third-generation Victorian women were also surveyed, to provide a guide to actual contemporary usage in Victoria, where the culture and language are notoriously (and historically) more British than the average in Canada. The immigrants were also asked for their reactions to many aspects of Canadian life.
An Index of Acculturation, based on the comparative proportions of Canadian and :British usage given, and taking into account any expressions of resistance to Canadian culture or vocabulary, was used to align the British informants on a comparative scale of adaptation.
It was found that those with the lowest Indexes were those who expressed open hostility to all things Canadian; and those with the highest Indexes were those showing enthusiasm for Canada, considering themselves permanently settled in the country. Those between these extremes were affected in varying degrees by other factors, notably length of residence in Canada and the establishment of family life in Victoria; the principal variation. was found in individual receptivity to change as such. Variety was also found in the adoptability of different groups of Canadian words, due more to structural than to psychological factors. The tendency to identify language with culture was most clearly seen where a positive or negative attitude was conscious; emotional motivation is a key factor in the dynamics of linguistic acculturation.