The language is very colloquial with a north-western dialect. Many of the phrases used are very well known in the north of England. For instance 'what's-'is-name', which is widely used throughout the north. If the play were put on in the north this would make the audience feel at home and at ease because they are used to this type of phrase. The dialogue is believable and realistic for someone like Scullery.
The idea of Scullery is a link between the scenes, he is always there and everybody knows him. This comes across in the way that he speaks to people like 'Brink'. He automatically lets on to them and he speaks to them in the same way that he spoke to the audience earlier in the speech. There's excessive use of personal pronouns by Cartwright in all of Scullery's speeches. He does this to bring the audience into the play, to draw them into the 'Road' and make them feel like they are part of the play. I think that Cartwright does this well in some of his other plays like 'Two' for instance.
Valerie's monologue in act two is about her husband being out all of the time. In the monologue she uses hateful language that portrays the relationship her and her husband have with each other. Throughout the piece she uses words that tell the audience about her and her social situation. We learn that she has no money and that she has to borrow off her friends.
There is frequent use of questions. Valerie is unsure of herself and so asks questions a lot. It makes the audience think about their life and the society in which we live when Valerie asks 'Why the why why?' The question doesn't make sense but neither does life. This is the message that Cartwright is trying to get across through the language. The language is very simplistic. The language is in no way complex.
Towards the end of the speech the sentences are broken up with pauses where Valerie is crying. The language used towards the end is the opposite of that used at the beginning. It's very caring. Valerie cares for her husband. There is a natural speech pattern throughout the monologue. The rhythm to which she speaks is natural and well paced; there are no random pauses which upset the speech pattern within Valerie's monologue.
The whole piece has a northern dialect. It is written as it should be said. The language is all well known up in the north of the country. There is a little bit of foul language within Valerie's monologue, but it is not unnecessary, it fits well with the piece and is part of the vernacular of the character. The sentences in the passage are relatively short. Valerie has a very simple vocabulary and this is shown throughout her speech, 'Rough dog he is. Big rough heavy dog.' This tells the audience about the upbringing of the character.
Louise's monologue in act two is all about escaping. There is use of poetic language in this speech 'it's so about pure things it make you want to cry.' This makes it different from most of the other dialogue in which poetic language is used very little. Another difference between this and other text in 'Road' is the use of symbolism. Louise uses symbolism to express her feelings. The speech pattern is unnatural, during this speech Louise says things she wouldn't usually say in everyday life. This is because the speech is supposed to be different and not naturalistic.
There are no characteristic phrases within Louise's speech but 'somehow a somehow I might escape' comes up a lot in the latter dialogue of play. It builds up to the climax of 'Road' in which the four young people, Louise, Carol, Brink and Eddie chant 'Somehow a somehow I might escape!' to a regular rhythm. The phrase symbolises the whole play and sums up what 'Road' is about.