Cultural Value Shifting in Pronoun Use. (February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yu, Feng; Peng, Theodore; Peng, Kaiping; Tang, Shi; Chen, Chuan Shi; Qian, Xiaojun; Sun, Pei; Han, Tingting; Chai, Fangyuan
• Is Part Of: Journal of cross-cultural psychology. Volume 47:Number 2(2016)
• Page Start: 310
• Page End: 316
• Publication Date: 2016-02
• Subjects: individualism -- collectivism -- Google Ngram -- big data -- value -- culture; Ethnopsychology -- Periodicals; 155.805
• DOI: 10.1177/0022022115619230
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-0221

Abstract

By investigating the use of first-person pronouns in nine languages using the Google Ngram Database, we examined the degree to which different cultural values skewed toward individualism or collectivism over a span of 59 years. We found that in eight of nine languages (British English being the exception), first-person singular pronouns (vs. first-person plural pronouns) have become increasingly prevalent, which in turn points to a rising sense of individualism. British English showed a U-shaped curve trend in the use of first-person singular pronouns (vs. first-person plural pronouns). Although they initially decreased, British English's first-person singular pronouns (vs. first-person plural pronouns) use was higher than most other languages throughout the whole period. Chinese displayed a fluctuating pattern wherein the use of first-person singular pronouns (vs. first-person plural pronouns) increased in recent periods. The dynamics of cultural change and culture diversity were discussed.