Is It Possible to Speak English Without Thinking American? On Globalization and the Determinants of Cultural Assimilation

Arbeitspapier

Based on research in linguistics and psychology I use language speech as a reflection of acculturation. I use individual and city-level data from the Lake Ontario area in Canada and study the determinants of cultural assimilation. I focus on education, age, income, and in particular, on some variables typically discussed when globalization issues come up, such as immigration, television viewing, borders, and residence history of the individuals. I find that actual contact does matter as a determinant of cultural homogenization. Virtual contact appears to be irrelevant. This finding is robust to changes in specification and to different empirical methods.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Working Paper ; No. 557

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft
• Subject: Sprache ; Globalisierung ; Kulturelle Identität ; Kanada

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Chong, Alberto
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department
• (where): Washington, DC
• (when): 2006

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/88063
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET