The Importance Of Divergence

Divergence occurs when there are no attempts or concern of either speaker in a conversation to accommodate to the other. The main function of divergence is to allow individuals of various cultures to maintain social identity. One reason people may decide to diverge can be the result of preserving cultural heritage and maintaining distinctiveness from other cultures. Another reason is due to stereotyping created by society. Individuals often communicate with preconceived stereotypes in mind and sometimes diverge to preserve their individual pride. Another reason for divergence comes as the result of power and role differences. When individuals of different socio-economic classes converse there is often a difference in power status of the individuals, which in turn can lead to one individual talking and leading the conversation more than the other. Lastly, individuals also choose to diverge out of disagreement or …show more content…
When it becomes evident that a socio-economic class difference is present individuals may decide to diverge and ignore the importance of the other individual in the conversation. When lower class individuals engage in conversation with the upper class it often leads the upper class individual to take control of the conversation by talking more and guiding the conversational topics that arise, which can result in the lower class individual feeling as though their contributions to the conversation do not hold as much importance ultimately offending them merely due to their class standing. By offending lower class citizens through conversations this socio-economic class often times leaves their voices unspoken and do not speak out on political issues. For example, many lower class citizens do not feel the need to vote or voice their opinion because they often feel as though it will not be heard or matter even if