Linguistic accommodation through code-switching by English-Mandarin bilingual salespersons.

Abstract

Past research has looked into code-switching between bilinguals who only share one common language or have huge disparity in their bilingual abilities. However, there is a dearth in studies on interaction between bilinguals who share similar proficiency in both languages, especially in the context of service encounters. Having undergone a similar education system in school that focuses on English and their ethnic language, young Singaporeans make good subjects to research how they interact with fellow bilinguals. Thus, this thesis investigates the use of linguistic accommodation through code-switching by salespersons and its relation to the areas of differing socioeconomic status where the service encounters took place. It was predicted that fewer instances of accommodation would be observed in the area of higher socioeconomic status. The researcher interacted with 100 salespersons and had code-switched from English to Mandarin mid-way through their conversation. Results collected showed a high percentage of accommodation by the salespersons in general, but no significant relation was found between salespersons’ choice to code-switch and the socioeconomic status of the area. A post-hoc analysis suggests age of salespersons as a possible factor that affects linguistic accommodation instead. These findings will be useful for future research to expand on the understanding of factors affecting linguistic accommodation in service encounters.