Sunday, 6 September 2015

My Spoken Language

I find that my language changes around different people. For example the language I use with my family is very different from the language I use in front of my friends. My language will also change depending on the age of the people I am talking to as well as their status compared to my own.

My friends greatly influence my language; with them I tend to use much more informal words and phrases. For example with my friends I am more likely to shorten down sentences from ‘would you like to come to my house’ to ‘you wanna come to my house.’ This is an informal way of speaking and one I would never use with my family or authority figures. With my friends my language also tends to be more taboo. It is seen as expectable and normal in my friendship group to use swear words whereas with my family or authority figures it is unacceptable and disrespectful.   

A lot of my spoken language comes from the type of language that my family uses. My mum and everyone on her side is Scottish and so I find myself using typical Scottish words and phrases such as ‘wee’ as that I what I am surrounded by at home. I come from a religious family and so phrases such as ‘oh my god’ are just as, if not more, unacceptable than swear words as they are seen as offensive and a form of blasphemy.

When I am with people with authority such as a teacher, manager or police officer I will use much more formal language. I use full sentences without abbreviations as this is a sign of respect towards them. I will speak in a way that is a lot closer to ‘The Queen’s English’ than with my friends or even my family.  

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