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Ethnographic Analysis Paper

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While conducting my ethnography I have interviewed five All-Girl members, and four Coed members of the Spirit program. By interviewing one more All-Girl members I hope to even out my biases due to being a part of the Coed team. Yet, before defining the differences found between the two teams, I will share the apparent similarities. Both teams show strong linguistic accommodations which I have observed at numerous appearances, such as changing the way one would speak due to their audience. When present at an appearance all members of the Spirit program are expected to intermingle and socialize with attendees. During the course of this exchange it became apparent that accommodating for the age of audience drastically changed the way the team members spoke. For example, when Jules Wazny was speaking to an elderly man she reduced the tempo at which she spoke and asked questions about the game and respectfully shook his hand; yet when she was speaking to a child she spoke in a higher pitch tone, offered the child her poms to play with, and asked questions such as how old the child was. These actions represent convergence, changing ones language to better fit the style of the recipient, which was not only found with All-Girl Cheerleader Jules Wazny, but also throughout the program. An example from a Coed member was Vivi Benbrook changing how she spoke with a middle age male, in a calm and respectful manor asking questions of the game such as where his seats where, and if he thought we were going to win. Contrast this to when she spoke to an elderly women, she used a higher pitch when asking if she was excited, and telling her to stay warm in this cold weather. All members, once wearing affiliated attire, whether it is practice gear, …show more content…

I have created a table to help better represent the lexicon difference which is seen

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