It's interesting that linguistic co-ordination is being used to determine "pecking order". Maybe so, but I observe things a bit differently.
I grew up in a part of the country that was mostly rural, toward the midwest/southeast part of the US. I was raised believing that "y'all" was a label for referencing a group of people.
I no longer live in this part of the country, but return from time to time for family. Re-connecting with family and friends, my wife will notice that I start to sound like everyone with whom we're surrounded (she kindly refers to this as my "inner hick".)
If this is true (I assume it is), it is completely sub-conscious. If there is anything I'm consciously doing, it is attempting to bridge any perceived gap in communication.
In terms of pecking order, it may be the case that I'm conforming to my surroundings. I tend to think of it more as "when in Rome".
I don't care for the value judgment implied by the term "pecking order", as it denotes that someone is in control or holds more influence. Communication carries an underlying intent, a reason for the communication to occur in the first place. Linguistic analysis can measure syntax and output, but it doesn't measure intent. And intent is important to understanding the value of communication.
When the Google guys came up with PageRank, the assumption was that the intent of including a link was to point to a more credible source. As we now know, assuming the intent of a website to link to another as a means of assessing credibility is flawed.
I grew up in a part of the country that was mostly rural, toward the midwest/southeast part of the US. I was raised believing that "y'all" was a label for referencing a group of people.
I no longer live in this part of the country, but return from time to time for family. Re-connecting with family and friends, my wife will notice that I start to sound like everyone with whom we're surrounded (she kindly refers to this as my "inner hick".)
If this is true (I assume it is), it is completely sub-conscious. If there is anything I'm consciously doing, it is attempting to bridge any perceived gap in communication.
In terms of pecking order, it may be the case that I'm conforming to my surroundings. I tend to think of it more as "when in Rome".
I don't care for the value judgment implied by the term "pecking order", as it denotes that someone is in control or holds more influence. Communication carries an underlying intent, a reason for the communication to occur in the first place. Linguistic analysis can measure syntax and output, but it doesn't measure intent. And intent is important to understanding the value of communication.
When the Google guys came up with PageRank, the assumption was that the intent of including a link was to point to a more credible source. As we now know, assuming the intent of a website to link to another as a means of assessing credibility is flawed.