This idea leads me on to context and how that influences speech. When analysing speech Graddol, Cheshire and Swann write of how important it is to consider the ‘speech event in a context of situation’ (1994,p15). Therefore to analyse my own speech I must consider context and what context may result in.
The context of a situation may result in things such as code switching. One theory of code switching claims that a speaker’s choice of code is determined by situation. Therefore, the choice of code itself is communicatively meaningful’ (Stockwell, 2002 p9). In relation to my own speech I have found that I will use an exaggerated Black Country dialect to create a jokey, humorous tone but will switch back to my ‘normal’ dialect when speaking seriously. Stockwell explains that this is done because anything said in this way ‘would be taken as a joke.’ (2002 p9) For example if I wanted to say to someone ‘your not coming’ but wanted this to be taken as a joke I might say /jaʊ æɪ
cʊmɪn/ but if I wanted to make this statement seriously I may say /jɔ: nɒ cʊmɪn/
I may also look at Lave and Wenger’s idea of the Community of Practice and how this influences the way I speak English. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet define Community of Practice as ‘an aggregate of people who come together around mutual engagement in an endeavour’(1992 p464). Within Communities of Practice we should find shared vocabulary. If I look at my work community I find that there is specific vocabulary that may not be understood by those outside of the speech community. For example, the names of equipment such as ‘kanban’ and ‘york’ would be unknown outside of the workplace vernacular. Also phrases for different jobs, like for example ‘tying up’ meaning to tidy up the work area by taking most mail away but not all, and ‘tying off’ meaning to take all mail away, would be specific to a certain area of the workplace. This may not be known to those within the workplace who do not work in this certain area. Within the workplace I have also found friendship networks lend themselves to vocabulary that is used in relation to the workplace but may only be used within this friendship sub-group. For example ‘lifer’ is used within my work friendship network to describe someone who has no prospects outside of the workplace and will spend their life in this line of work. However, I am unaware of this term being used outside of this network. This helps to reinforce the idea that individuals typically negotiate multiple memberships (Eckert and McConnell-Ginet.1992 p464). Not only through membership to different networks but through membership to networks within networks.
I have found that I also use more Black Country dialect in accordance with Giles’ (1977) Speech Accommodation Theory. When speaking to someone who uses a very distinct Black Country dialect I may also use more Black Country dialect. This convergence may be used to create a bond with the other speaker or to ‘signify solidarity’ (Dyer, 2007)
Language does not only depend on ‘where you are from’ (Trugill 1994,p2) but also your social class. Trudgill states that ‘People speak different kinds of English depending on what kind of social background they come from.’ (1994,p2)
If we look at Stockwell’s summary of Bernstein’s Theory of Codes in Sociolinguistics: A resource book for students 2002, it tells us that working class children only have access to a restricted code but middle class children have access to both restricted code and elaborate code. Bernstein suggests that having access to elaborated code allows children to thrive in the educational environment as education is ‘predicated upon elaborate code’(Stockwell,2002 p57).
Looking at my own class background I would consider myself to be working class and therefore, according to Bernstein should only have access to restricted code. However, if we take into account Bernstein’s idea that success in education requires access to elaborated code this would suggest that I have access to both restricted code and elaborated code.
I would suggest that, when relating Bernstein’s Theory of Codes to speech, I use restricted code in casual speech situations such as talking to friends or family, and that I am able to code switch and use elaborate code in more formal situations like speaking to lectures or giving an oral presentation. In relation to this, in situations that are of a more academic nature I may find myself attempting to use a dialect that is more akin to Standard English than Black Country English and a more formal style. For example, though I may use bin /bɪn/ and ay /eɪ/ in my every day speech and also ‘me’ instead of ‘my’, I would not use this in a more formal speech situation or when talking to strangers. This may be because rural accents, like Black Country, were found by Giles and Powesland (1975) to be ‘subordinate to RP on the dimensions of social status and intelligibility.’ (Stockwell, 2002 p27)
Hughes and Trudgill (1996) found that there was not much evidence of the use of glottal stops within the West Midlands. (Hughes and Trudgill, 1996,p85). If we look at Dr Esther Aspery’s work on Black Country dialect (2008) we can see that this is also the conclusion of Painter (1963). He found, when studying the speech of darts players in Rowley Regis that ‘[ʔ] does not occur’. Aspery also reports that Manley (1971) found no evidence of ʔ in Cradley Heath. However, Aspery states that Mathisen (1999) found that the glottalisation of [t] is very frequent in teenagers and young adults and that ‘age is the main social factor, but female and MC speakers, in that order, are at the front of this ongoing change.’(Aspery 2008).
Mathisen’s idea may explain use of the glottal stop in my own speech in, for example, bottle /bɒʔəl./ So even though the glottal stop is said not to occur in West Midland dialect, the social factors of age and gender could account for its use in the way I personally speak English.
In this essay I have shown that speech is influenced by many factors. Although most assume that peoples speech is a product of the place they live this essay shows that this is merely one of the contributors. I would suggest that context is one of the most influential factors when assessing speech, as interactions with different people will create different speech situations. However, it is not enough to assess language using only one factor as a persons speech is most definitely a product of the combination of social, geographical and contextual factors.
Word Count 1,629
Bibliography
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Stockwell, Peter. Sociolinguistics: A Resource Book for Students. _
Routledge 2002.
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Conduit, Ed. The Black Country Dialect: a modern linguistic analysis.
Laghamon Publishing 2007.
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Dyer, Judy in The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics.
Routledge 2007. (from WOLF further reading notes)
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Eckert ,Penelope and McConnell-Ginet, Sally. Think Practically and Look _ Locally: Language and Gender as Community-Based Practice.
Annual Reviews 1992.
ginet%201992%20language%20and%20gender%20as%20community%20bas ed%20practice.pdf
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Asprey, Esther. Black Country dialect (2) phonology
Unpublished PhD thesis 2008. (from WOLF further reading notes)
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Trudgill, Peter. Dialects
Routledge 1994
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Graddol, David, Cheshire, Jenny and Swann, Joan. Describing Language
Open University Press 1994
