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In the field data-click to listen!
(If needed, right click and "save target as"...)
Why and What?
In
the beginning of the semester, we talked about phonetically writing words. Some students protested because they pronounced
words differently. In passing, we constantly hear different phrases and pronunciations based on age, and, mostly, region
and location. So what are those differences in language? How obvious are they? How much distance is needed
for variation? Is there really a difference in speech as a result of age? It is human nature to be curious and
out of my curiosity, these questions have been raised in my head numerous times throughout this course. Initially, I
only seemed to recognize the seemingly most noticeable "accents"--those of Boston, "Lon Gisland," the deep South, and the West. I didn't even think my hometown spoke
that differently from "the rest of the nation." But boy was I wrong. Now with the awareness and gained from this
insight, I am beginning to understand how different and varying each of our own vernacular can be. From the simplicity
of a higher vowel to the complexity of variance in terminology. Variance: some of it's laziness, some of it's just the
changing nature of language, some of it is just the (mis)communication from one generation to the next, some of it has no
reasoning at all. Okay, what am I trying to say? Listen to how people speak. Everyone. Everybody.
There are great, subtle, and obvious differences in how each of us speaks. It's amazing.
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What I've Begun to Learn...
Language is kinetic.
Language is ever-changing. It is not the laziness of language that creates "slang" or dialectic variation; it is the
very nature of language. With the advancement of technology (especially the internet) and a more linguistically accepting
audience, language is beginning to evolve in a way no English scholar could have ever imagined.
One of the reasons as to why
there seems to be a difference in dialect between age groups is because language changes slightly over time. For instance,
things of importance then may be insignificant now. The introduction and integration of technology further divides the
language of the past generations and the new, budding ones. The internet has created a host of new terms, lingo, and
even language. "Netspeak" has become increasingly popular and worked its way into everyday language. Abbreviations
and internet slang like "brb" and "lol" are constantly written and it has become increasingly more popular to use such terms
in every day communication. For the younger generation (about 12 and 13 years old), it is the "cool" and "popular" to
use internet slang while those who are 18, 19, and 20 seem to satirize the language, while still maintaining its use
in every day langauge. It's an interesting dynamic how internet jargon has managed to find its way into the classroom,
workplace, and kitchen table. The language is so integrated into our lives that we have even developed a sense of grammar
within this dialect: netiquette (internet etiquette). Netiquette describes the usage within the internet community and
how far and what can be used within e-mails and instant messanges.
Music has also played an important
role in evolving language. Playing and experimenting with language and the idea of standard language has become more
accepted in our culture and going against the grain seems to be more popular and more "artistic" than simply sticking to "Standard
English." Tearing away from such standards seems to be testing one's creativity and the successful moderation of the
English language is awing to us.
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But...
Despite the integration and
general acceptance of "Netspeak" and other linguistically changes, there still seems to be a resistance to formally accepting
these changes. It is not enough that pronunciation is changing and varying, but now usage is shifting. Nouns are
becoming verbs. Informal is becoming formal. There is an uneasiness about becoming too "informal." Emails
and text messaging has lead to slang-filled writing and it seems that the "higher ups" are afraid that this everyday language
will become instituted into a formality. Of course this new language is not as pleasing to the ear nor as hard to grasp,
but why the want to continue "standard" English? Why not just integrate the jargon into the dictionary? Regardless
of how much we try to prevent it, Netspeak will weasel its way onto the college paper and into the mouths of executives.
But maybe when it does, it won't seem like slang because of who's speaking.
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