Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES
Nabua, Camarines Sur
ELS 102 – Theories of Language and Language
Acquisition
Group 3- Accommodation Theory (April 3, 2023)
Accommodation Theory in Linguistics
Have you ever noticed how other people can
change their speech and communicative style
based on where they are or who they're talking
to? Have you ever found yourself doing this? We
often change our speech to bring ourselves
closer to or further apart from others – this
process is called accommodation.
This article will introduce Howard Giles'
communication accommodation theory, explain
the different ways we accommodate and our
motives, and provide some examples.
Howard Giles' Accommodation Theory
Who is Howard Giles?
Howard Giles is a British-American he is an
educator, author, social psychologist and a
Distinguished Research Professor of
Communication at the Department of
Communication, University of California, Santa
Barbara.
Giles was born on December 22, 1946 in
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom; the son of
Alexander Clifford Giles and Muriel Irene
(Wyle) Giles. He came to the United States in
1989.
Giles is known for developing communication
Accommodation Theory.
In 1973, the sociolinguist Howard Giles first
introduced the communication accommodation
theory in his article Accent mobility: A model and
some data1. The theory provides a framework to
predict and explain changes in human
communication.
Giles believed that individuals adjust their speech
to create, maintain, or decrease social bonds and
interactions. For example, matching your speech
patterns to your interlocutor can strengthen your
social bond.
Interlocutor – A person taking part in a
conversation or communicative act.
Origins of Communication Accommodation
Theory
Howard Giles, who was a professor of linguistics
and psychology at the University of California,
Santa Barbara (UCSB), developed
Communication Accommodation Theory. He was
trying to find the reason for the shifts he
observed in the speech of most people as they
spoke to different people and to detail the
consequences of this behavior. Giles was
particularly interested in the underlying thought
processes and emotions that are involved in the
use of convergence and divergence during
conversations.
Giles's communication accommodation theory
began life as a sociopsychological model that
looked at accent and speech pattern changes in
intercultural communications.

Interpersonal and intergroup communication
Giles suggested that communication happens
on two levels; interpersonal and intergroup.
 Interpersonal communication
– Communication that is driven by our
personalities. When we communicate on
an interpersonal level, we communicate
for ourselves and our interests.
 Intergroup communication – This is
communication that is driven by our
identities as members of a wider social
group. For example, a teacher may feel
they are representing all teachers in
certain situations and will adjust their
communication accordingly. How they
talk around students, parents, and peers
will likely differ from how they speak to
friends or family.
Fig. 1 - Our speech can change when we feel
we are representing a wider social group.
Accommodation theory: types of
accommodation
Communication accommodation theory
suggests that, during social interactions, we use
accommodation to bring us closer together or
further apart from each other. Accommodation
can be a good way to express our feelings and
attitudes towards one another.
Howard Giles's accommodation theory states
that there are two main types of
accommodation; convergence and divergence.
Two main types of accommodation
Types of Definiton
accommodation
Convergence When individuals
change their speech to
sound more like their
interlocutor
Divergence When individuals
emphasize a difference
in communication style
Convergence
Convergence is when an individual, changes
their communicative style to sound and appear
more like their interlocutor. This usually happens
when the individual respects the person they are
talking to and wishes to seek their approval or
seem more like them. For example, when
students talk to a teacher they like, they will likely
use less slang and match their speech to the
teacher.
Convergence can happen on a conscious and
subconscious level. This means people can
accommodate their speech on purpose, or it
happens without them realizing it.
Typically speaking, converging speakers are
viewed more positively than diverging speakers
and are deemed better communicators. Think
about it; convergence suggests that the speaker
respects you!
However, convergence can also lead to a loss of
personal identity. Additionally, if speech change
is deemed too much, individuals could be
ostracised by their peers.
Ostracised - excluded from a group.
Motives for convergence  External pressures the speaker may be
under to speak a certain way
There are several reasons why people
converge. Here are a few;
Accommodation and social status
 To seek approval and respect from others
 To show respect to others Social status can play an important role in
 Increase social reward accommodation. There are two ways we can
 Improve communication converge and diverge related to socioeconomic
 Reduce uncertainty and anxiety status; upwards and downwards.
Upwards convergence would see a person
trying to match their interlocutor by making their
Divergence
speech sound more upper-class. In contrast,
downward convergence would see them
Divergence is the act of changing
adjusting their communication to downplay their
communication style to emphasize and
social status.
accentuate a difference or distinctiveness from
an interlocutor. For example, someone from a
Upwards divergence, on the other hand,
working-class background might emphasize
involves an individual accentuating their social
their accent when talking to someone from a
status (i.e. speaking a little more posh) to
more upper-class background to draw attention
distance themselves from others. Downward
to their different social status and vice-versa.
divergence is the opposite of this (i.e. an
individual accentuating a working-class
Motives for divergence accent/dialect).
Here are some potential motives behind
divergence; Upwards divergence can be used to assert
dominance and superiority over others, and there
 To emphasize difference and are often societal expectations regarding who
distinctiveness from others should converge to whom. For example, there is
 To shape others' feelings, e.g. making a general consensus that someone with a lower
others feel left out social status should upwards converge.
 To show belonging to a specific group,
e.g. speaking with a stronger
native accent References:
 To influence others' speech, e.g. talking
quietly in hopes others will too. Howard Giles. (n.d.).

https://prabook.com/web/howard.giles/561554
Maintenance
Wikipedia contributors. (2023, March 17).
Maintenance is when a speaker refuses to
change their communication style in any way - Howard Giles. Wikipedia.
they maintain their own communication style
throughout. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Giles
It is worth noting that divergence and
Accommodation Theory. (n.d.).
convergence can be received negatively.
Generally, receivers of accommodation will StudySmarterUK.https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/
assess the following three things when judging
how to perceive accommodation: exnations/english/language-and-social-

 The speakers' language competence, e.g. groups/accommodation-theory/

is it their first language?
 The effort the speaker is making Communication Accommodation Theory. (2012,

September 10). Communication Studies.

https://www.communicationstudies.com/commun

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