Varieties of English

Varieties of English • Standard English • RP • Cockney • Estuary English

Students are exposed to a number of varieties of English. • Help in understanding them can play an important and particularly useful part in the study of English as a foreign language (EFL). • English, like every language, is subject to variation.

What is the difference between a dialect and an accent?

A dialect describes features of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. • An accent refers to the description of aspects of pronunciation which identifies where a speaker is from, regionally or socially.

Three variables of dialect are: • Geographical: Where the speech community is based. • Social: What social group/s the speech community belongs to. • Temporal: In what time (present or historical) the speech community exists.

Accents • It is not just a case of pronouncing things differently. • Not all speakers share the same set of phonemes • We don’t always use them in the same place

As a result….. • Manywords are pronouncedidenticallyby some speakers and differentlybyothers. Look at the example: • Farther and father: • these are pronouncedidenticallybymost people in England (except in the South West and partsof the North of England.)

Can youthinkabout a definitionofstandard? Can youtrytoexpalin whatStandard English is?

STANDARD ENGLISH Standard is the kind of English which is: • written in published work, • spoken in situations where published writing is most influential, especially in education (and especially at University level), • spoken ‘natively’ (at home) by people who are most influenced by published writing - the ‘professional class’.

On the social distribution of Standard, we can go a bit further than this. • First, Standard is probably spoken natively by about 10% of the population. • Secondly, Standard can be combined with many different accents, including regional accents.

Standard English, also known as Standard Written English or SWE, is the form of English most widely accepted as being clear and proper. • Publishers, writers, educators, and others have over the years developed a consensus of what standard English consists of. It includes word choice, word order, punctuation, and spelling. • Standard English is especially helpful when writing because it maintains a fairly uniform standard of communication which can be understood by all speakers and users of English regardless of differences in dialect, pronunciation, and usage. This is why it is sometimes called Standard Written English.

BRITISH ENGLISH • spoken written • standard regional dialects standard regional dialects RP regional accents related regional accents

RP: SOME DEFINITIONS • A kind of standard, not necessarily deliberately imposed or consciously adopted, not a norm from which other accents deviate, nor a target towards which foreign learners need necessarily aim, but a standard in the sense that is regionally neutral and does undeniably influence the modified accents of many British regions (S. Ramsaran in Gramley-Patzold) • A pronunciation of British English, originally based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England and characteristic of the English spoken at the public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Until recently it was the standard form of English used in British broadcasting. (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000).

When British English is taught to foreign learners, the accent presented as a model for the learner will most typically be received pronunciation (RP) • ‘Received’: in the 19th century the sense was that of “accepted in the most polite circles of society”. • British society has changed a good deal since that time, but RP has remained the accent of those in the upper reached of the social scale, as measured by education, income and profession, or title.

It has traditionally been the accent of those educated at public schools . Other way of defining it: • Oxford English • Queen’s English • BBC English • RP is not a uniform, homogeneous pronunciation but it has different variants: • General RP, • Near-RP • Conservative RP • Advanced RP • Adoptive RP

A regional accent can be used when speaking Standard English as well as when speaking a regional dialect. • Received Pronunciation: social accent • Standard English: (Superdialect)

RP, unlike prestige accents in other countries, is NOT the accent of any particular region, except historically: • Its origins were in the speech of London and the surrounding area • It is impossible to tell from this pronunciation where an RP speaker comes from.

WHY RP: • The aesthetic argument: Wylde (1934): «RP is superior from the character of its vowel sounds, to any other form of English, in beauty and clarity». But Daniel Jones underlined: «I do not consider it possible at the present time to regard any special type as ‘Standard’ or as intrinsically ‘better’ than other types. Nevertheless, the type described in this book is certainly a useful one. It is based on my own (Southern) speech, and is, as far as I can ascertain, that generally used by those who have been educated at ‘preparatory’ boarding schools and the ‘Public Schools’. [...] The term ‘Received Pronunciation’ [...] is often used to designate this type of pronunciation. This term is adopted here for want of a better». (D. Jones, An Outline of English Phonetics, 1960, 9th edn, p. 12) • The intelligibility argument D. Jones: «Rp is easily understood almost everywhere in the English-speaking countries». • The scholarly treatment argument:RP is the basis of linguistic treatment of English pronunciation. EFL model. • The social argument:RP as a status symbol

Long-standing association of RP with affectation, social snobbery • The influence of non-standard and foreign accents and dialects of English (and of EIL), along with a general deterioration in standards in other modes of behavior, has been blamed for the perceived rise of ‘sloppiness’ in pronunciation and disregard for ‘proper’ grammar.

Cockney • Cockney represents the basilectal end of the London accent and can be considered the broadest form of London local accent.(Wells 1982b) • It traditionally refers only to specific regions and speakers within the city. • While many Londoners may speak what is referred to as "popular London" (Wells 1982b) they do not necessarily speak Cockney. • The popular Londoner accent can be distinguished from Cockney in a number of ways, and can also be found outside of the capital, unlike the true Cockney accent.

The term Cockney refers to both the accent as well as to those people who speak it. • The etymology of Cockney has long been discussed and disputed. One explanation is that "Cockney" literally means cock's egg, a misshapen egg such as sometimes laid by young hens. • It was originally used when referring to a weak townsman, opposed to the tougher countryman and by the 17th century the term, through banter, came to mean a Londoner. • Today's natives of London, especially in its East End use the term with respect and pride - `Cockney Pride'.)

The Cockney accent is generally considered one of the broadest of the British accents and is heavily stigmatized. • It is considered to epitomize the working class accents of Londoners and in its more diluted form, of other areas. • The area and its colourful characters and accents have often become the foundation for British "soap operas" and other television specials. • Currently, the BBC is showing one of the most popular soaps set in this region, "East Enders" and the characters’ accents and lives within this television program provide wonderful opportunities for observers of language and culture.

The most striking features of Cockney are: • r is pronounced only when followed immediately by a vowel-sound. So, no r is pronounced in flowers. (Some New England accents and Southern U.S. accents have this same feature.) • Dropped ‘h’ at beginning of words (Voiceless glottal fricative):h is usually omitted (home in the demonstration words); in self-conscious speech it's articulated very strongly. Examples: house = ‘ouse; hammer = ‘ammer • l is pronounced only when a vowel-sound follows (so no l is pronounced in hole, etc.). • TH fronting Another very well known characteristic of Cockney is th fronting which involves the replacement of the dental fricatives, and by labiodentals [f] and [v] respectively. Voiceless th is often, but not always, pronounced as f (breath, etc.). Voiced th is likewise often but not always pronounced as v (breathe, etc.). Examples: thin = fin; brother = bruvver; three = free; bath = barf • The long vowels are all diphthongs. Notice especially the difference between force etc. (spelled with r followed by a consonant, though the r is not pronounced) and poor etc. (spelled with r not followed by a consonant, though again the r is not pronounced). • MonophthongizationThis affects the lexical set ‘mouth’ vowel. • Glottal stop (the ‘t’ sound is not pronounced in intervocalic or final positions. there are some words where the omission of ‘t’ has become very accepted. Examples: Gatwick = Ga’wick; Scotland = Sco'land; statement = Sta'emen; network = Ne’work

Listen • fleece, police, grease • face, chase, lace • price, rice, nice • choose, lose, shoes • mouth, round, flowers • goat, note, home • force, north, porch • poor, more, door • hole, bowl, coal • little, model, fiddle • breath, three, thanks • breathe, mother, other

Cockney is characterized by its own special vocabulary and usage, and traditionally by its own development of "rhyming slang.“ • ( Rhyming slang, is still part of the true Cockney culture even if it is sometimes used for effect.)

Rhyming slang • Cockney rhyming slang is an amusing, widely under-estimated part of the English language. It began 200 years ago among the London east-end docks builders. Cockney rhyming slang then developed as a secret language of the London underworld from the 1850's, when villains used the coded speech to confuse police and eavesdroppers. Since then the slang has continued to grow and reflect new trends and wider usage, notably leading to Australian rhyming slang expressions, and American too. Many original cockney rhyming slang words have now entered the language and many users are largely oblivious as to their beginnings.

Cockney rhyming slang uses substitute words, usually two, as a coded alternative for another word. The final word of the substitute phrase rhymes with the word it replaces (for example - the cockney rhyming slang for the word 'look' is 'butcher's hook'). When only the first word of the replacement phrase is used, as is usual, the meaning is difficult to guess (ie 'butchers' = 'look'). doc

COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG 'Allo me old china - wot say we pop round the Jack. I'll stand you a pig and you can rabbit on about your teapots. We can 'ave some loop and tommy and be off before the dickory hits twelve. or, to translate Hello my old mate (china plate) - what do you say we pop around to the bar (Jack Tar). I'll buy you a beer (pig's ear) and you can talk (rabbit and pork) about your kids (teapot lids). We can have some soup (loop de loop) and supper (Tommy Tucker) and be gone before the clock (hickory dickory dock) strikes twelve.

"Got to my mickey, found me way up the apples, put on me whistle and the bloody dog went. It was me trouble telling me to fetch the teapots." which really means, "Got to my house (mickey mouse), found my way up the stairs (apples and pears), put on my suit (whistle and flute) when the phone (dog and bone) rang. It was my wife (trouble and strife) telling me to get the kids (teapot lids)."

Cockney rhyming slang is so prevalent in British English that many people unwittingly employ it in everyday speech. You will hear several established terms used in conversation throughout Britain: "Let's have a butchers at that magazine" (butcher's hook = look) "I haven't heard a dicky bird about it" (dickie bird = word) "Use your loaf and think next time" (loaf of bread = head) "Did you half-inch that car?" (half-inch = pinch, meaning steal) "You will have to speak up, he's a bit mutton" (mutt'n'jeff = deaf) "I'm going on my tod" (todsloan = alone, or own) "Are you telling porkies?" (porkies = pork pies = lies) "Are you going to rabbit all night?" (rabbit and pork = talk) "Scarper lads! The police are coming" (scarpa flow = go)

Since the 1980s there has been a resurgence in the popularity of rhyming slang, with numerous new examples popping up in everyday in speech. Some make a bold attempt to infiltrate language use at a national level, usually employed by eager and cocky (sic) adolescents and especially young male adults in an attempt to strengthen their identity. The popularity of 'new laddism', 'girl power' and youth culture in general in the 1990's, encouraged by the media as a profitable commodity, has led to a wealth of rhyming slang taking hold throughout the United Kingdom.

Ayrton Senna = tenner (a monetary note) Claire Rayners = trainers (the footwear) Darren Gough = cough Damon Hill = pill David Gower = shower Gary Ablett = tablet (ecstasy pill) Gary Glitter = shitter (anus) Gianluca Vialli = charlie (cocaine) Jack Dee = pee Janet Street-Porter = quarter (a weight of drugs) Tony Blair (s) = flairs or hair Here's a small selection of general, but older, currently used expressions: ruby murray = curry barnet fair = hair currant bun = sun hampstead heath = teeth deep sea diver = fiver (a monetary note) mince pies = eyes china plate = mate pen and ink = stink septic tank = yank (a person from the U.S.) whistle and flute = suit

Song – Starz in their eyes • They'll be making sure you stay amused They'll fill you up with drugs and booze Maybe you'll make the evening news And when you're tripping over your dreams They'll keep you down by any means and by the end of the night you'll be stifling your screams Since you became a VIPerson It's like your problems have all worsened Your paranoia casts aspersions On the truths you know And they'll just put you in the spotlight And hope that you'll do alright Or maybe not Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? Why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? So why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? Starz in their eyes? Remember they said you'd show them all Emphasise the rise but not the fall And now you're playing a shopping mall Your mum and dad they can't believe What you appear to have achieved While the rest of these users are just laughing in their sleeves Since you became a VIPerson It's like your problems have all worsened Your paranoia casts aspersions On the truths you know And now the tabloids use your face To document your fall from grace And then they'll tell you that that's just the way it goes That's just the way it goes Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? It's the same old story well they just didn't realise And it's a long way to come from the dog and duck karaoke machine And Saturday night's drunken dreams

Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? It's the same old story well they just didn't realise And it's a long way to come from your private bedroom dance routines And Saturday night's drunken dreams Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? Why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? So why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? Starz in their eyes? Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? It's the same old story well they just didn't realise And it's a long way to come from the dog and duck karaoke machine And Saturday night's drunken dreams (When I grow up im going to be famous) Behind the steel barrier and sequence and glitter Five inch heels still knee deep in the litter Each of them a bitter bullshitter, Wrapped up in the cloak of fake glamour, getting lost in the camera Well footprints are fools gold, diamonds crusts on their one off plimsolls So little time for these one off arseholes Rigour mortis Ken and Barbie dolls, A pair of big shades and a push up bra, It's such a short gap between the gutter and stars, That you've come a long way from the place that you started So why'd you wanna go and get so down hearted Welcome to the kingdom of the blagger Uncutting you nose clean, coating you bladder A whole lot happier a whole lot sadder, Used to be satisfied but now you feel like Mick Jagger, Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? It's the same old story well they just didn't realise And it's a long way to come from the dog and duck karaoke machine And Saturday night's drunken dreams Now why do you wanna go and put starz in their eyes? It's the same old story well they just didn't realise And it's a long way to come from your private bedroom dance routines And Saturday night's drunken dreams

Pygmalion (G.B. SHAW) George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion tells a story of a phonetics professor Henry Higgins, who makes a bet with Colonel Pickering that he can transform Eliza Doolittle, a thick-accented Cockney flower girl or a "squashed cabbage leaf" (as he himself describes her) into a fine duchess within three months. Professor Higgins is a man who can say where a person comes from by his or her accent. In the play (and film) the emphasis in changing one’s social class is more on learning to speak the right accent than on other significant factors. Higgins stresses that Eliza has to abandon her "Kerbstone English that will keep her in the gutter to the end of her days" and learn how to speak beautifully. In Shaw’s days (that is at the beginning of the 20th century) Britain was a very class-ridden society, and accent was a very good marker of one’s social class.

Preface: • «It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman despise him».

PYGMALION script available at: http://www.bartleby.com/138/index.html • "In six months—in three, if she has a good ear and a quick tongue—I'll take her anywhere and I'll pass her off as anything. I'll make a queen of that barbarous wretch!"

So the Professor makesaninitial challenge towardPickeringwhichbecomes the cornerstoneof the film's plot. Hewagerswith the Colonelthatwithinsixmonths, he can teachElizaDoolittletospeakarticulately so thatshewillbetransformedinto a pure-speaking lady, so that no onewillsuspecther Cockney originswhensheispassed off as a duchess at anEmbassy Ball. Shewillbecome a proper, aristocratic lady just bybeingtaughtproper English: • Youseethis creature withhercurbstone English. The English thatwillkeepher in the guttertill the end ofherdays. Well, sir, in sixmonths, I could pass her off as a duchess at anEmbassy Ball. I couldevengether a job as a lady's maid or a shop assistant, whichrequiresbetter English...[ToEliza] Yes, yousquashedcabbageleaf. Youdisgraceto the noblearchitectureofthesecolumns! You incarnate insultto the English language! I could pass you off as, ah, the Queen ofSheba.

The rain in Spain • “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain! Henry By George, she's got it! By George, she's got it!Now, once again where does it rain? Eliza On the plain! On the plain! Henry And where's that soggy plain? Eliza In Spain! In Spain! The three The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain! “ • The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain! Henry In Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire...? Eliza Hurricanes hardly happen. How kind of you to let me come! Henry Now once again, where does it rain?Eliza On the plain! On the plain! Henry And where's that blasted plain? Eliza In Spain! In Spain!

Griffinepisode • http://watchfamilyguyonline.org/movie/51-Family_Guy_304_One_If_By_Clam_Two_If_By_Sea.html • When a hurricane strikes Quohog, everything is destroyed except The Drunken Clam, which is bought out by a Brit who turns it into an English pub. As it happens, pub owner Nigel Pinchley and his family move in next door to the Griffins, and Stewie tries to teach Nigel's Cockney-accented 3-year-old daughter how to speak proper English.

Emergence of a new replacement variety first dubbed ‘Estuary English’ by Rosewarne (1984) Estuary English is a name given to the form(s) of English widely spoken in and around London and, more generally, in the southeast of England — along the river Thames and its estuary.

[...] a variety of modified regional speech. It is a mixture of non-regional and local south-eastern English pronunciation and intonation. If one imagines a continuum with RP and London speech at either end, ‘Estuary English’ speakers are to be found grouped in the middle ground. (Rosewarne 1984)

From a geographical point of view, EE is said to have been first spoken "by the banks of the Thames and its estuary" (Rosewarne 1984, 29), then became "the most influential accent in the south-east of England“ (Rosewarne 1984, 29) and is now spreading "northwards to Norwich and westwards to Cornwall" (Rosewarne 1994, 4). From a sociological point of view, EE is reported to be used by speakers who constitute the social "middle ground" (Rosewarne 1984, 29). This definition includes speakers who want to conform to (linguistic) middle class norms either by moving up or down the social scale. The first group aims at EE in order to sound more 'posh', the second to sound less 'posh', both avoiding the elitist character of RP. This social compromise is also reflected in the linguistic makeup of EE. It comprises features of RP as well as non-standard London English thus borrowing the positive prestige from both accents without committing itself to either. This vagueness makes it extremely difficult to pin EE down linguistically.

Estuary English • web site (regularly maintained by J.C. Wells): http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/estuary/home.htmProvides numerous web links to "scholarly articles, papers, lectures, web sites and "light journalism."

Listeningactivity:Comma gets a cure • International Dialects of English ArchiveFounded 1997 • http://web.ku.edu/~idea/index.htm • Well, here's a story for you: Sarah Perry was a veterinary nurse who had been working daily at an old zoo in a deserted district of the territory, so she was very happy to start a new job at a superb private practice in North Square near the Duke Street Tower. That area was much nearer for her and more to her liking. Even so, on her first morning, she felt stressed. She ate a bowl of porridge, checked herself in the mirror and washed her face in a hurry. Then she put on a plain yellow dress and a fleece jacket, picked up her kit and headed for work.When she got there, there was a woman with a goose waiting for her. The woman gave Sarah an official letter from the vet. The letter implied that the animal could be suffering from a rare form of foot and mouth disease, which was surprising, because normally you would only expect to see it in a dog or a goat. Sarah was sentimental, so this made her feel sorry for the beautiful bird.Before long, that itchy goose began to strut around the office like a lunatic, which made an unsanitary mess. The goose's owner, Mary Harrison, kept calling, "Comma, Comma," which Sarah thought was an odd choice for a name. Comma was strong and huge, so it would take some force to trap her, but Sarah had a different idea. First she tried gently stroking the goose's lower back with her palm, then singing a tune to her. Finally, she administered ether. Her efforts were not futile. In no time, the goose began to tire, so Sarah was able to hold onto Comma and give her a relaxing bath.Once Sarah had managed to bathe the goose, she wiped her off with a cloth and laid her on her right side. Then Sarah confirmed the vet's diagnosis. Almost immediately, she remembered an effective treatment that required her to measure out a lot of medicine. Sarah warned that this course of treatment might be expensive-either five or six times the cost of penicillin. I can't imagine paying so much, but Mrs. Harrison-a millionaire lawyer-thought it was a fair price for a cure.

LISTEN 1The subject is a 49 year-old white male speaker of ‘contemporary’ RP, born in Woking, Surrey and educated to A-Level (age 18) at a local grammar school. He has lived most of his adult life in Brighton and works as a local government officer. The speaker recalls that his accent was closer to ‘pure’ RP when growing up in Surrey than in its current incarnation. Brighton is a student city and the influence of many younger ‘Estuary English’ speakers is probably significant. His occupation also entails a fair amount of telephone-based conflict resolution and he admits to regularly micro-adjusting his natural accent in both class directions in order to better establish a rapport with colleagues and complainants. • The following sounds heard in the recording are fairly typical of a shift away from traditional toward ‘relaxed’ RP. • Slight centring of GOOSE vowel with fairly relaxed lip rounding relative to advanced RP. • Retraction and lowering of first vowel in FACE diphthong • Raising of first vowel in MOUTH diphthong • Retraction of first element of PRICE vowel, sometimes smoothing it into a monophthong. • CURE and SQUARE vowels are often realised as monophthongs.. • Affricated intervocalic /t/ • The intermittent occurrence of a labiodental or ‘weak’ r is a feature of the speaker’s idiolect and not particularly characteristic of either of his regions of origin. Transcription • Well, I was um, I was born in Surrey, in 1957, and, uh in a little town called Woking. Ah, I lived with my parents, ah, for three years in a…caravan on a caravan site, um… until the birth of my brother, when I was about three, er, and then we moved into the.. gamekeeper’s cottage on an estate, where my grandfather worked, my grandfather was the gamekeeper on the estate. Er, and we lived there for a couple of years. • Um, just in the, this little little cottage on the estate looking at watching the animals, I remember my father chasing a fox in the garden, and I remember there being lots of dead animals around, that had been shot, by the gamekeeper, my grandfather gamekeeper. • Anyway we lived there for a while, and then my father got er, a house, in Addlestone, near Addlestone. And we lived there until I… got a permanent job, which involved me living, working, overseas in other parts of the world, and then, eventually moving down to Brighton, and I’ve been here…about…25 years, or more, I think.

Listen 2 • The subject is a 28 year old white female born and raised in Portslade, East Sussex, now living in nearby Brighton. She describes herself as working class, having grown up in a low income area. She attended private school on an assisted place and university in 1997, the year before student grants were withdrawn by the UK government. • Her accent is a good example of the much-contested category ‘Estuary English’. She notes that while attending private school, it veered closer to contemporary RP, due to ‘overwhelming social pressure’ to conform to the same speech system as the vast majority of her fellow pupils. • She also remarks that her accent derives more from the general populace of her social environment than her family members or close personal friends, many of whom speak an Estuary variant considerably closer to Standard RP. • The following features can be heard in the recording: • The GOOSE vowel is advanced- almost fronted- to a greater extent than the centralised variant in Contemporary RP. It has almost no discernible lip rounding and is not far from Primary Cardinal 2. • Unrounded GOAT vowel with both elements quite centralised. • ‘g’ is dropped from ing verb participle endings. • Intervocalic glottal replacement of /t/. • Others /t/s are often slightly dentalised or affricated. • Elision of 3rd syllable, and coalescence, or ‘crunching’ of /t/ and /r/ at the final syllable onset of ‘territory’. • Alveolar-palatal coalescence, resulting in an dropped yod and affricate onset for ‘Duke’. This is very common in Estuary accents and not unusual in Contemporary RP. • Replacement of dark l with FOOT vowel. • Labiodental variant of both voiced and unvoiced ‘th’, especially in medial position. • Fairly open DRESS vowel relative to RP, often heading towards SQUARE. • Slight retraction of NURSE (see ‘beautiful bird’), towards a long STRUT. • Retracted first element and slight monophthongisation of PRICE vowel. • SQUARE is usually monophthonised. • ‘Cure’ at the end of the set passage is realized with THOUGHT vowel.

I think that my accent is um, a true reflection of where I come from in the social spectrum in this country…and I have quite…in my area. And I have quite a strong political belief that I won’t alter my accent for other people despite having been sent to a private school…erm…my family having aspirations, to fit in with a much more conventional, accepted way of behaving, I’ve never accepted that, I want to be accepted for who I really am, and if people find it threatening, that’s not really my problem. • Erm, I’ve always been…corrected, as most children are, erm, in this country by my parents for not speaking ‘The Queen’s English’, er dropping my aitches and ‘t’s, though in words for a reason despite the fact that lots of other letters like g, h and other expressions in English language are silent deliberately, umm, to decide on your own to do that…is in some way anarchistic, so it should be stamped out or otherwise you won’t be allowed to take part in polite society. • I don’t really hold a lot of…I don’t think that idea holds a lot of water, I still argue with my dad about it. He tells my brothers off, for dropping their ‘t’s and says ‘I know your sister does it, but she’s too big to tell off’, and I’ll say you know, it’s, it’s not fair to say that to me, when I grew up in a place in Portslade, where it’s normal to speak like this. • If I’m in, ah, working in a shop, in my shop I work in, I always try, er, to be polite and I probably try and sound a little bit more innocent than I really am to try and…mask the threatening effects…but…I won’t try and speak in a more proper way to get respect. • Running time: 04:04

Varieties of English