Acculturation, deculturationA B C D E F G H IJKL M N O P R S T U VXYZWA
AA-certifi cate, A-certifi cate See certifica-
tion of films.
Aberrant decoding See decode.
Abstraction, ladder of See narrative: ladder
of abstraction.
ABX model of communication See
newcomb’s abx model.
Accent Th e entire pattern of pronunciation typi-
cal of a particular region or social group. Accent
is a feature of dialect and can be classed as an
aspect of non-verbal communication. Th e
use of most languages is marked by differing
dialects and their accompanying accents. In
Britain a range of regional accents still survive
and are important signs of regional identity
and affiliation. Simon Elmes commenting on
contemporary uses of accent found in the BBC
Voices survey in his book entitled Talking for
Britain: A Journey through the Nation’s Dialects
(Penguin Books, 2005) notes that, ‘A striking
feature of many of the ... interviews has been
the way in which specific accents and words
are identifi ed as belonging very narrowly to a
particular village or town.’
Regional accents also appear to have the poten-
tial to infl uence social evaluations; evaluations
that can aff ect perceptions of both the sender
and content of the message. In an article entitled,
‘It’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it’,
in the UK Independent (15 October 1997), Emma
Haughton identifies Received Pronunciation
(RP), Refi ned Scots, Welsh and Irish, Yorkshire
and Estuary English as being favourably received
but Brummie, Belfast, Glaswegian and West
Country accents as being viewed unfavourably.
Judgments will vary, though; an individual with a
Brummie accent may not share the general view.
Peter Trudgill in Sociolinguistics: An Introduc-
tion to Language and Society (Penguin, 2000)
argues that evaluations of the use of accent and
dialect tend to be social rather than linguistic, for
‘there is nothing at all inherent in non-standard
varieties which makes them inferior’. Reactions
to regional accents are also subject to change.
Diff erences in accents will often refl ect diff er-
ences in the social structure of a society, and in
particular its patterns of social stratification.
Peter Trudgill notes a pattern as regards this
relationship in Britain. Typically those from the
higher social classes are more likely to use stan-
dard dialect and an accent close to RP, the pres-
tige accent, whilst those from the lower classes
are more likely to use non-standard dialect and
a localized, regional accent. However, as several
researchers have noted, individuals can and do
adjust their use of accent and dialect to fi t in
with the social context.
Trudgill also points out that among certain
groups within society a ‘covert prestige’ can
be attached to accents generally viewed as not
prestigious, especially when they are part of
‘non-standard’ speech. Such accents and ‘non-
standard’ speech may also be used to convey an
image of toughness and masculinity in certain
situations, irrespective of the actual social status
of the speaker.
Accessed voices Within any society, these are
the people who have a ready and privileged
access to the channels of mass communication:
politicians, civil servants, industrialists, experts
of various kinds, pundits, royals and celebrities;
and it is their views and styles that are given
voice in preference to the views of others in
society. Roger Fowler in his Language of News:
Discourses and Ideology of the Press (Routledge,
1991) writes of this selectivity, ‘The political
eff ect of this division between the accessed and
unaccessed hardly needs stating: an imbalance
between the representation of the already privi-
leged, on the one hand, and the already unprivi-
leged, on the other, with the views of the offi cial,
the powerful and the rich being constantly
invoked to legitimate the status quo.’
With the advances in communicative exchange
brought about by the internet the public has
more choice in terms of who and what they
access. However, though there is less reliance on
traditional channels of mass communication, the
‘usual suspects’ as listed by Fowler still dominate
the press and national broadcasting.
Accommodation, politics of See politics of
accommodation (in the media).
Accountability of media See mcquail’s
accountability of media model, 1997.
Acculturation, deculturation Th e process by
which a society or an individual adapts to the
need for cultural change. The conditions for
such change occur, for example, when encoun-
ters with other cultures continue on a prolonged
basis such as in colonization, emigration and
immigration. In analysing the process by which
individuals adapt to life in a new country, Young
Yun Kim in ‘Adapting to a new culture’ in Larry
Samovar and Richard Porter, Intercultural
Communication: a reader (Wadsworth, 1997)
comments, ‘Th ey are challenged to learn at least
some new ways of thinking, feeling, and acting- an activity commonly called acculturation ...
At the same time, they go through the process
of deculturation ... of unlearning some of their