Idiolect
A person’s idiolect is their unique way of speaking. This consists of things such as accent, vocabulary, grammar and non-verbal communication and is influenced by things such as the region they live in, age, personal experiences, age, occupation and social groups they belong to.
Growing up in Newquay during the 70’s, having moved from Indian Queens, with the town still retaining a mostly Cornish community I inevitably acquired a Cornish accent. Despite my upbringing I don’t think I speak with what many would regard as a stereotypical Cornish accent. I consider this the result of joining the British Merchant Navy at the age of sixteen, being away for months among shipmates from all over the British Isles, only spending weeks at home on leave, until leaving when I was twenty-three. Since returning home; Newquay has developed into an urban seaside town with a diverse community and a frequent flow of transient visitors and summer workers, thus my accent has been further influenced up to the present day. However, when in company with family and friends, I’m always being niggled about my “Cornish coming out there” while in conversation. This is an example of code-switching, which is when people speak differently in different context and adapt accent or dialect.
My dialect contains some local Cornish words; for example;”dreekly” (later), “emmet” (tourist), “teasy” (cross/moody) and “mizzle” (a term used in the West Country to describe drizzle or fine rain). I also know that I occasionally use what would be considered to be non-standard grammar in expressions such as “where to?”, “proper job”, “what’s on?” and the word “some” instead of “very” (he’s ‘some handsome’). These are also reflective of local Cornish dialect.
Words influenced by social factors are described as part of my sociolect. This includes the use of some slang in informal situations, such as spoken conversations with friends, with words such as “smashed”, “dodgy”, “gutted” and “knackered” being typical
Growing up in Newquay during the 70’s, having moved from Indian Queens, with the town still retaining a mostly Cornish community I inevitably acquired a Cornish accent. Despite my upbringing I don’t think I speak with what many would regard as a stereotypical Cornish accent. I consider this the result of joining the British Merchant Navy at the age of sixteen, being away for months among shipmates from all over the British Isles, only spending weeks at home on leave, until leaving when I was twenty-three. Since returning home; Newquay has developed into an urban seaside town with a diverse community and a frequent flow of transient visitors and summer workers, thus my accent has been further influenced up to the present day. However, when in company with family and friends, I’m always being niggled about my “Cornish coming out there” while in conversation. This is an example of code-switching, which is when people speak differently in different context and adapt accent or dialect.
My dialect contains some local Cornish words; for example;”dreekly” (later), “emmet” (tourist), “teasy” (cross/moody) and “mizzle” (a term used in the West Country to describe drizzle or fine rain). I also know that I occasionally use what would be considered to be non-standard grammar in expressions such as “where to?”, “proper job”, “what’s on?” and the word “some” instead of “very” (he’s ‘some handsome’). These are also reflective of local Cornish dialect.
Words influenced by social factors are described as part of my sociolect. This includes the use of some slang in informal situations, such as spoken conversations with friends, with words such as “smashed”, “dodgy”, “gutted” and “knackered” being typical