Spoken Language Study
Spoken Language Study
Lord Sugar’s idiolect stands out in this transcript because it’s completely different to the candidates. His language features are very informal which is surprising considering they are in a boardroom and you would expect everyone to be professional, especially Lord Sugar, as he is the boss.
Alan’s informality is shown with his cockney accent and the fact he uses elision and slang in his dialect, such as “dunno”, “talkin” and “should’a”. This shows that is so assured with his position of power and authority over the contestants that he doesn’t have to use upwards convergence to bring him closer to the contestants by changing his idiolect and giving people a more highly regarded perception of himself because peoples opinion on someone who has Alan’s idiolect would be that they are not very well educated and would have had a poor upbringing with not much money. The fact that he is so comfortable is reflected in the way is sits back, casually in his chair.
On the other hand, all the contestants have a formal idiolect; they have a ‘posh’ accent and use Queens English, such as “Indeed”, “Absolutely” and “If I may”. This language is used to give across a good impression of them but they could also be using upwards convergence to put their idiolect on par with the other contestants so they are not seen as less intellectual, because the view on people with their idiolect is that they are well educated and have been well brought up in a wealthy environment. The fact the candidates are trying to make a good impression instantly shows they are in a less powerful position because they have something to prove.
The candidates use repeated phrases and constantly call Alan “Lord Sugar” throughout the conversation, however they are known just by their first names, “Tom”, “Zoe” and “Melody”. This instantly puts Lord Sugar above them and shows us that he is much more powerful position. The public view of someone called Lord means that they are is a highly
Lord Sugar’s idiolect stands out in this transcript because it’s completely different to the candidates. His language features are very informal which is surprising considering they are in a boardroom and you would expect everyone to be professional, especially Lord Sugar, as he is the boss.
Alan’s informality is shown with his cockney accent and the fact he uses elision and slang in his dialect, such as “dunno”, “talkin” and “should’a”. This shows that is so assured with his position of power and authority over the contestants that he doesn’t have to use upwards convergence to bring him closer to the contestants by changing his idiolect and giving people a more highly regarded perception of himself because peoples opinion on someone who has Alan’s idiolect would be that they are not very well educated and would have had a poor upbringing with not much money. The fact that he is so comfortable is reflected in the way is sits back, casually in his chair.
On the other hand, all the contestants have a formal idiolect; they have a ‘posh’ accent and use Queens English, such as “Indeed”, “Absolutely” and “If I may”. This language is used to give across a good impression of them but they could also be using upwards convergence to put their idiolect on par with the other contestants so they are not seen as less intellectual, because the view on people with their idiolect is that they are well educated and have been well brought up in a wealthy environment. The fact the candidates are trying to make a good impression instantly shows they are in a less powerful position because they have something to prove.
The candidates use repeated phrases and constantly call Alan “Lord Sugar” throughout the conversation, however they are known just by their first names, “Tom”, “Zoe” and “Melody”. This instantly puts Lord Sugar above them and shows us that he is much more powerful position. The public view of someone called Lord means that they are is a highly