Lisa Maiklem

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 463.

F) audiofile: BBC Voices_surrey.ram

Stacey

E) audiofile: BBC Voices_yorkshire.ram

Born:1988

Lives: Rawcliffe, North Yorkshire

Time lived in area: All my life

Occupation: Student

Stacey talks about the influences on her accent, from her "really Yorkshire" grandparents to school friends who "neutralised" it.

Transcript

STACEY: I think when you come up to secon'ry school as well you kind of make it more neutral to like - cos when you're talking to your friends you have a different kind of accent. It's like when I went - I used to like go to my gran - nana and grandpa's - really Yorkshire people - when mum and dad were at work, so I picked up a lot of that from them, and then went to secondary school and like everyone was like "You're really Yorkshire"' and I was like I didn't realise it but then I neutralised it out going through.

Born:17 May 1973

Lives: Reigate, Surrey

Time lived in area: 1 to 4 years

Occupation: Plant area manager in garden centre

Lisa talks about 'well spoken' language and how some youngsters may choose to exclude others through the way they speak.

Transcript

INTERVIEWER: Do you think that there's a specific type of accent in Surrey and if so, what would you call it? LISA: there tends to be quite a divide between sort of very well spoken people and very badly spoken people I would say who spend much time in places like where we are specifically (laugh) INTERVIEWER: What would you say was badly spoken? LISA: Just people not finishing their words properly um and grammatically not stringing a sentence together um and using yeah, I suppose very slang words that don't really make sense to norm...you know other people they have a very colloquial sort of cliquey youngsters group that would probably understand those words but um yeah sometimes older generations wouldn't know what they're talking about.

More about the speech in the clip

Lisa talks about how she sees the linguistic situation in her local area, describing a divide between, sort of, very well-spoken people and very badly spoken people. Language not only varies geographically, but that it also has a social dimension. In fact, contrary to popular opinion, everybody speaks with an accent and everyone has a dialect. People from different geographical places clearly speak differently; but even within the same small community, people might speak differently according to factors such as their age, gender, ethnicity and social and educational background.

By very well-spoken people Lisa is probably identifying speakers of the dialect known as Standard English, and the accent known as Received Pronunciation (RP). It's commonly - but increasingly misleadingly - referred to as BBC English. RP is the proper name of the regionally non-specific accent perhaps most readily associated with speakers from public school backgrounds. It does, however, encompass a wide variety of speakers and should not be confused with the notion of 'posh' speech. Standard English with an RP accent is best considered as the version on which teaching English as a foreign language is based.

In referring to badly-spoken people Lisa talks about pronunciation, grammar and choice of vocabulary that distinguish some groups of speakers from others. Linguists tend to prefer a distinction between 'standard' and 'non-standard' grammar. 'Standard' grammar refers to a variety that has become widely acknowledged as a prestigious form, mainly due to its use by people in positions of authority and because of its universal acceptance as a written norm. Linguists also distinguish between 'prestigious' and 'stigmatised' forms of pronunciation, such as H-dropping. In fact, any native speaker adjusts his or her speech patterns depending on the situation they find themself in: from relaxed conversation in familiar surroundings to a more formal setting. They may adjust pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary or all three; but the range of any given speaker's repertoire is defined by who they are.

Some dialects and accents of English have historically been viewed more positively than others and individuals often suffer as a result of irrational prejudice against the way they speak. It's important to stress that, from a purely linguistic point of view, no particular dialect is better at communicating meaning than another. The fact that prestigious or highly regarded forms exist is more a reflection of value judgements based on social, rather than linguistic, criteria. In an increasingly homogeneous society, the vocabulary, structure and sounds that define the speech of a particular region or social group should be (and indeed are for many speakers) a source of pride and an important expression of identity.