Relational Dialects

 Relational Dialects 

Relational dialects differ in three ways; connectedness or autonomous, openness or closedness, and predictability or novelty (Bowman 2019). When I am in a close relationship I will lean towards a connected relationship. When I am in a more associate type of relationship, I will keep my autonomy. “Partners typically want or need to involve the other in decision making and time spent together in order to truly have a partnership,” (Bowman 2019), and so depending on how close I am to the person my dialect can change. We should not practice connection, which is “a desire to be seen as part of a dyad” (Bowman 2019), with everyone we come across. Again, relational dialect can change based on the type of relationship, so in a close relationship like those with my family and friends I will be more open, otherwise I practice closedness. While I appreciate some forms of predictability like good morning texts, I also enjoy spontaneity and novelty. “Relational partners often develop patterns of behavior wherein they feel comfortable in being able to foreknow the reactions and experiences of the other person” (Bowman 2019). Predictability can bring stability and security; novelty can add a sense of fun into the security. The relational maintenance strategy I would use for each of these tensions is separation. Separation uses the extremes of relational dialects differently depending on the context of a situation (Bowman 2019). I am likely to use this strategy because different relationships should be treated differently based on context. 

 

Works Cited 

Bowman, Jonathan M. Interpersonal Communication: Interconnections Foundations and Contexts. MindTap - Cengage Learning, 2019. https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=5799847154192693996956595&eISBN=9781337554121&id=1986405705&snapshotId=3798006.