How My Spoken Language

This essay will explore the social attitudes and contexts that influence the way my spoken language adapts depending on the audience and situation.
Idiolect is the unique and distinctive way an individual speaks. It is influence by a diverse range of factors that shape the way we speak throughout our lives. Context is one such factor that plays a key role in how I adapt the way I speak. When talking to my friends or siblings, I generally speak informally and use more non-standard English or slang words, such as “wha`ever” or “dunno”. I am comfortable around my friends and worry less about sounding ‘proper’; however I also want to belong to the group and share in our common sociolect
In contrast, when speaking to a person of authority, like
a business manager or anyone I do not know, I tend to speak formally with an emphasis on using Standard English. I do this in part to show respect to the person I am talking to, but in the case of a job interview, I am also trying to make a good first impression, and show that I am an intelligent person. In this situation I would use jargon words I typically refrain from using, as I know they will understand me. In addition I am more likely to use phatic speech, such as “how are you?” when in formal situations. Although I asked a question, the actual answer is not necessary, what is, is the social convention attached to this type of communication, where being polite to strangers is seen as socially significant.
Age is another aspect that has a significant effect on the way I speak.
The slang I use when speaking to my friends or family is a prime example of this. As I have grown up, I have been influenced by social pressures and fashions to alter the slang I use. Humans are social animals and find pleasure in being around others similar to ourselves. This includes those of a similar age group, as they are the ones that will most likely be influenced by similar mediums, such as television shows, so we adapt the way we speak, using words like “OMG” and “LOL” to fit in. This adaptation has allowed me to conform to the social image of a teenager and find a place within social groups, giving me a sense of security. I believe I needed this while growing up to allow me to express myself and provide the freedom to feel human. Being understood may seem like a simple desire; however our entire life is underpinned by the ability to communicate with others. It affects our jobs, friendships and essentially our satisfaction with life. We all have an instinctual desire to be content and I am no exception.
Another influence, on my idiolect, though minor, is the regional area I live. Although my accent isn’t very broad and I mainly speak using Standard English, I have spent my whole life living in derby and use several dialect words including “knackered” (meaning tired) and “mardy” (someone who’s acting childish). My parents don’t have very strong Derby accents; however my uncle’s is particularly broad.
He uses common Derbyshire greetings, like "ay up me duck" and will say things like “going ‘t’ shop”. I picked up many of the dialect words I use from spending time with him and friends at school
In the accent surveys I carried out, my accent was described as a ‘Derby accent’, although not a very broad one.
Due to my common use of Standard English and quiet way of speaking, my accent gave the impression that I am a ‘shy’, ‘intelligent’ and ‘thoughtful’ person. When asked if we judge others based on their accents, most agreed, giving stereotypical examples, such as those with a ‘northern’ accent are ‘uneducated’. Others mentioned that we judge people on our ability to understand an accent, for this reason many strong accents like Brummy, are seen as aesthetically displeasing. The fact that several of the stereotypical opinions given were the same clearly shows how widespread these views are. However, there was resounding disagreement when asked if an individual’s accent could determine whether or not they were intelligent. While we may be prejudice to certain accents, a person’s lexis and ability to comprehend or respond to language was seen as a stronger indicator for intelligence.
This survey provides an excellent example as to why we alter the way we speak in different situations. It shows that most of us judge and are aware of being constantly judged on our accents and so we develop our repertoire to allow us to relate to others and make ourselves
understood.
An accent can tell you a lot about a person, unfortunately though, the knowledge that most people gain from an accent is commonly just stereotypes. These are born from prejudices, often negative and uneducated beliefs towards a person or group/region. Stereotypes have occurred throughout history and still occur in today’s society. A good example of a stereotype is that non-native speakers, due to their accent are less educated, have poor English skills, and are unpalatable. It is hard to move past stereotypes, as humans we have a fear of the unknown and so we make decisions based on the first few seconds of meeting someone, this includes their accent. This instinctual response to meeting a new person allows us to feel safe, as we can pretend we know something of that person’s character. When introduced to someone who swears a lot, I automatically think of them as rude and uneducated and want nothing to do with them, however I know very little about what that person is really like just because they swear. The media influences us so deeply we often stereotype subconsciously, for instance due to movies and television shows I often automatically see people with a received pronunciation as the ‘evil’ antagonist. Similarly Liverpudlians (Scousers) are untrustworthy and unintelligent. It is unfortunately easier to make a quick judgement of a person based on already established social ‘facts’, than to take the time to get to know that person.