Communicating Across Cultures: Social Determinants and Acculturative Consequences

Past research has consistently documented the relations between interethnic contact, language behaviour and identity on the one hand, and the relations between interethnic contact and psychological adjustment on the other. This study combines these two lines of research through a consideration of the influence of ethnolinguistic vitality on these variables' interrelations. The participants included 285 English-Canadian and 243 French-Canadian students at a bilingual university who originated from high and low ethnolinguistic vitality contexts. The results of analyses of variance showed that vitality and native language group membership influenced the extent of ethnic identification, interethnic contact, and self-confidence in the second language, but did not affect the levels of psychological adjustment. Path analyses supported a model in which linguistic self-confidence mediated the relations between interethnic contact and identity and adjustment, although the patterns of relations differed depending upon the vitality of the group. It is suggested that one reason why ethnolinguistic vitality is an important moderator of cross-cultural adaptation is because it implies group differences in the experience of interethnic contact and linguistic self-confidence. Resume Une recherche anterieure a substantiellement documente, d'une part, l'etablissement de relations etroites entre les contacts interethniques, les comportements linguistiques et 1'idennte, et d'autre part, l'etablissement de relations entre les contacts interethniques et l'adaptation psychologique. La presente etude regroupe ces deux champs de recherche en tenant compte de l'influence de la vitalite ethnolinguistique sur ces interrelations de variables. Le groupe de participants comptait 285 etudiants canadiensanglais et 243 etudiants canadiens-frangais frequentant une universite bilingue et provenant de milieux ou la vitalite ethnolinguistique etait soit elevee, soit basse. Les resultats d'une analyse de variance indiquaient que la vitalite et l'appartenance a un groupe de meme langue maternelle influencent le degre d'identification ethnique, de contact interethnique et de confiance en soi par rapport a la langue seconde sans affecter pour autant les niveaux d'adaptation psychologique. Les analyses causales appuyaient un modele ou la confiance en soi en matiere linguistique influait sur les relations etablies entre les contacts interethniques, l'identite et l'adaptation, malgre le fait que les modeles de relations differaient selon la vitalite du groupe. L'analyse porte a croire que la vitalite ethnolinguistique est un important moderateur de l'adaptation interculturelle, entre autres raisons, parce qu'il existe des differences entre les groupes dans l'experience de contact interethnique et de confiance en soi linguistique. Intercultural contact may entail many intraand interpersonal variations in language behaviour, feelings of ethnic identity, and psychological adjustment. Although these multidimensional ramifications of acculturative contact have been well recognized (eg., Berry, 1990; Elias & Blanton, 1987; Mendoza, 1989), little research has investigated more than one or two aspects at a time. For example, considerable research has examined the relation between the vitality of an ethnolinguistic group, ethnic identity and the language behaviour of individuals who belong to that group (see Giles & Coupland, 1991, for review). As well, there have been numerous investigations into the stress and adaptation problems that can arise from interethnic contact (see Berry & Kim, 1988; Rogler, Cortes, & Malgady, 1991, for reviews). This study integrates these two trends of research through an examination of English-French relations in a bilingual milieu. Acculturation refers to "those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact" (Redfield, Linton, & Herskovits, 1936, p. 149). Among these phenomena, one that has received considerable attention is ethnic identity. Ethnic identity corresponds to that part of Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 1996,28:3,214-228 Communicating Across Cultures 215 an individual's self-concept which concerns how he/she relates to the native ethnic group and to other relevant ethnic groups (Phinney, 1990). Although it is often indexed through other facets of acculturation, such as ethnic behaviours (eg., language preference or participation in the cultural community) or through arbitrary labelling by the researcher (eg., by last name or native language), ethnic identity is probably better assessed as a subjective feeling of belonging and self-definition (cf. Barth, 1969; Leets, Giles, & Clement, 1996; Phinney, 1990). Because interethnic contact implies the existence of at least two ethnic groups, adequate understanding of ethnic identity further requires that membership in the original ethnic culture and membership in the other relevant culture be considered independently of one another (Fernandez & Sanchez, 1992; Der Karabetian, 1980; Sanchez & Fernandez, 1993; Sayegh & Lasry, 1993; Szapocznik, Kurtines, & Fernandez, 1980; Zak, 1973; 1976). In line with this bidimensional approach. Berry (1980; 1990) suggests that four modes of acculturation can be identified depending upon the degree of engagement in each group. These include: (1) separation (rejection of the target group and identification with the native group); (2) assimilation (rejection of the native group and identification with the target group); (3) deculturation, or marginalization (rejection of both cultures as ethnic reference groups); and (4) integration (identification with both the native group and the target group). In their investigation of attitudes toward the process of acculturation, Berry and his colleagues have generally found that individuals prefer integration as an acculturation experience (eg., Berry, Kim, Power, Young, & Bujaki, 1989). This preference for integration, however, has not been replicated in some studies that have examined the effects of interethnic contact on ethnic identity. The results of a series of studies by Clement and his colleagues showed that respondents claim that high levels of identification with one ethnic group and low levels of identification with the other ethnic group characterize their feelings of identity (see Clement, Gauthier, & Noels, 1993; Clement & Noels, 1992; Clement, Sylvestre, & Noels, 1991; Noels, Pon, & Clement, 1996). These patterns, thus, are most appropriately described as "separation" or "assimilation". Clement and Noels' approach to ethnic identity differs from Berry's approach to acculturation attitudes in that it assesses not preferred acculturation experience, but rather the feelings of group membership on a moment-to-moment basis. In line with many constructivist accounts of cultural identity (eg., Applegate & Sypher, 1988; Collier & Thomas, 1988), Clement and Noels' (1992) situated identity approach maintains that sentiments of group belonging arise through negotiations between interactants, each of whom is motivated to achieve the most positive self-presentation possible. Group identities, therefore, are not presumed to be given and static, but, rather, to develop through the course of social interaction as individuals assume the most positive group identity possible, given societal and social characteristics of the situation. Two implications of this formulation and findings are relevant to the present study. First, identity may vary as a function of contextual characteristics, one of which is the ethnolinguistic vitality of the membership group (cf. Giles, Bourhis, & Taylor, 1977). Ethnolinguistic vitality refers to those societal characteristics that will ensure the survival of a language, including demographic representation, prestige, and institutional support (Giles, Bourhis, & Taylor, 1977). Clement (1980) and Lambert (1978) have suggested that there is a tendency for minority group members (i.e., members of groups with low vitality) to identify with the higher vitality second language group and to lose their original group identity (i.e., assimilate). In contrast, majority group members (i.e., members of groups with high vitality) are likely to acquire a second identity without losing their original group identity (i.e., integrate). Thus, a first purpose of the present study is to examine the patterns of acculturation as they pertain to the ethnic identity of Anglophones and Francophones of different ethnolinguistic vitality backgrounds. A second implication of this approach is that an identity can only be maintained to the extent that there is a social consensus about the appropriateness of that identity. Presenting a particular image can only be accomplished if that identity is validated by the interactant (cf. Schlenker, 1982; Schlenker & Wiegold, 1989). This assumption implies the existence of norms, or social consensus, among members of a group regarding the identity which is appropriate to a given situation. Moreover, groups from different vitality backgrounds may differ with regards to what is viewed as appropriate behaviour. For example, whereas majority group members may be required to accommodate minority group members on rare occasions, minority group members may be required to accommodate to the higher vitality interactants more frequently. As a result, minority group members may have less stringent norms about what is an appropriate identity. With regards to ethnic identity, then, maintaining an identification with either ethnic group can be achieved only to the extent that there are group norms to support that identity, and these norms may differ depending upon the vitality of the groups considered. In addition to variations in individual degree of endorsement of identities, variations in group consensus about identity should be related to vitality. Investigating these variations is the second purpose of this study. The third purpose of this study is to consider how contact and communication variables contribute to these 216 Noels and Clement identity variations and the effect that group vitality has on these interrelations. In her discussion of the importance of communication for cross-cultural adaptation, Kim (1988) maintains that the acquisition of communicative competence in the language of the other relevant ethnic group is essential for a harmonious acculturation experience (cf. Church, 1982; Deutsch & Won, 1963; Nicassio, 1985; Nishida, 1985; Redmond & Bunyi, 1993; Wong-Rieger, 1984). She maintains that it is through communication that individuals learn to relate effectively and appropriately with their social environment and, hence, are able to fulfil various needs and desires (cf. Rogler et al., 1991; Iran, 1990a, 1990b). With greater skill using a particular communication system, individuals better understand the cultural premises of that ethnic group and are more likely to identify with members of that group. Moreover, Kim maintains that, as needs and desires are satisfied, individuals are likely to experience better psychological adjustment. Hence, in situations of interefhnic contact, second language proficiency and re-lated variables such as self-confidence in using the second language are critical to feelings of ethnic identification and psychological adjustment. The interrelations between interethnic contact, language and identity are described in Clement's sociocontextual model of second language learning (1980; 1984). Clement suggests that, for settings where there is the opportunity for interethnic contact, aspects of this contact such as its frequency and quality lead to variations in the level of linguistic self-confidence. Self-confidence, defined as self-perceptions of communicative competence and concomitant low levels of anxiety in using the second language, is associated with increased usage of and communicative competence in the second language. These linguistic variables, in turn, are related to variations in identification with the second language group and with the original language group. More specifically, with increased second language competence, the individual comes to identify with the second language community. Second language competence may also affect identification with the first language group, but in different ways depending upon the ethnolinguistic vitality of the group considered. For majority group members, who are secure in the cultural stability of the native group, identification with the first language group is likely to be relatively uninfluenced by second language acquisition. For minority group members, who have less secure group vitality, identification with the first language group is likely to be undermined by developing second language competence. The socio-contextual model does not specify the relation between communication variables and psychological adjustment. Several studies, however, document that variables shown to be related to second language competence, including a preference for, knowledge of, and self-confidence in the second language, are linked to lower levels of stress, higher levels of satisfaction with the self and society, and/or a higher sense of personal control in a variety of ethnic groups (Chataway & Berry, 1989; Dion, Dion, & Pak, 1990,1992; Krause, Bennett, & Tran, 1989; Pak, Dion, & Dion, 1985). Pesner and Auld (1980), for example, found that bilingual high school students have higher self-esteem than unilingual students in some contexts. Elsewhere, in a recent examination of Clement's socio-contextual model (1980, 1984), Noels, Pon and Clement (1996) found that greater second language self-confidence was related to better psychological adjustment in Chinese students registered at Canadian universities. Following these considerations, the relations between self-confidence and emotional adjustment are examined in light of the socio-contextual model. In summary, the purpose of this study is threefold. First, the acculturation experience of high and low vitality Francophone and Anglophone Canadian university students is examined in terms of the degree of identification with the first and second language groups. Second, the same comparison is extended to the degree of membership group consensus regarding ethnic identification. Third, the influence of ethnolinguistic vitality on the relations between contact, self-confidence, identity and feelings of adjustment is examined through a test of some of the propositions outlined in Clemenf s socio-contextual model (1980; 1984).