{
  "abstract": "Language serves as a key medium through which individuals express and negotiate social belonging. By observing individuals’ behavior within an interaction, we can access the relational stance they adopt and infer the social relationships that link the two interactants. This process is particularly studied within the framework of the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT). According to CAT, speakers tend to align linguistically with their interlocutors to signal social proximity. Yet, most analyses remain focused on the psychological and dyadic levels, without considering the broader social influences that may shape linguistic choices. In this paper, we argue that considering the relational structure surrounding both interactants is crucial. In particular, we hypothesize that the position of the interlocutor within the speaker’s personal network is a key factor driving linguistic behavior. To address this, we conducted an exploratory empirical investigation with 21 young adults who recorded themselves in an average of three interactions each (resulting in a total of 71 discussions). Their personal networks and linguistic data were both collected. Linguistic similarity was operationalized via the Manhattan distance of intensifier frequency between the respondent (ego) and the interlocutor (alter). We used Generalized Estimating Equation models to test our hypotheses. Results indicate that speakers tend to align linguistically with their interlocutors when the latter occupy a central position within a compositionally homogeneous cluster—that is, when the alter is embedded in a structurally dense subgroup composed of individuals originating from the same social domain.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Sociology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland",
    "LIVES Centre, Swiss Centre of Expertise for Life Course Research, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland",
    "Department of English, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States of America"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Guillaume P. Fernandez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Eric D. Widmer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Robin Dodsworth"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5wc8hag9hz7jf.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357457",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "5wc8hag9hz7jf",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357457",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3310|Linguistic Variation and Morphology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive science/Cognitive psychology/Language"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Language"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Psychology/Collective human behavior/Interpersonal relationships"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Computer and information sciences/Information theory/Graph theory/Clustering coefficients"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Computer and information sciences/Network analysis/Social networks"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Mathematics/Graph theory/Clustering coefficients"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Linguistics/Sociolinguistics"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Linguistics/Speech"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Cognitive psychology/Language"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Psychology/Collective human behavior/Interpersonal relationships"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Sociology/Communications/Social communication"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Sociology/Human families"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Social sciences/Sociology/Social networks"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213895633",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0357457&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-21",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5wc8hag9hz7jf.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357457",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357457"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Embedded dyads: How the personal network relates to linguistic accommodation",
  "title_text": "Embedded dyads: How the personal network relates to linguistic accommodation",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5wc8hag9hz7jf",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}