Strategies of Neutrality: Language Choice in Uncertain Situations

Findings on language use among peers in inter-ethnic work situations in three African cities are presented. A clustering algorithm is used to display relations of similarity and dominance among clusters of speakers according to their language choice in this situation. The explanation of these data, as displayed by the algorithm, promotes the development of theory regarding socio-verbal interaction in uncertain situations which call for reciprocal participant accommodation, such as conversations with peers at work. Specifically, the data suggest that neutrality strategies in language choice are perceived as necessary to make such interactions successful.