Abstract :
This study reveals the strategy of communication used by the Minangkabau and Mandailing ethnic groups on a university campus. Data used in this research was obtained using the ethnographic method, i. e. participatory observation and interview. The analysis is a qualitative one based on the socio-pragmatic paradigm. The result shows that convergence and divergence are the preferred strategies of both ethnic groups in intercultural communication. This result is in line with Gile’s theory of accommodation (1975) and Roger and Kincaid’s convergence model of communication (1981). In practice, both strategies are applied in various ways according to the context of usage. Both strategies involve three different codes: the national language (Indonesian), Minangkabau and Mandailing.
