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Style shifting is not an addition to how we normally speak; in fact, you could say
that it is impossible to speak without any style. When we speak, we are making several
choices within fractions of a second;
choices regarding vocabulary, pronunciation,
intonation, grammar, sentence length and dialect. Mostly these choices are unconscious
and have been learnt in childhood. The most noticeable of the language features that we
learn unconsciously are determined by the place where we grow up and may include the
vocabulary and grammar patterns of the dialect spoken in that area.
Other choices are conscious and may be tied to our work; newsreaders or teachers, for
example, may speak in a certain way due to their jobs. Personal language style is therefore
an individual version of the typical behavior of a social group and is acquired along with
the culture of the group. Moreover, as we grow up and come into contact with other social
groups, we continually adjust
our speech to the audience, situation and topic.
So, style shifting is the change we make, consciously or unconsciously, to our personal
language depending on the circumstances. And how do we shift our linguistic style? The
most common moves are from casual to formal or vice versa. Casual to formal shifts
happen in specific contexts and in certain social groups. They are marked by a reduction
in certain features of casual speech, such as the use of double negatives or slang words.
They are also marked by hypercorrection. Hypercorrection is the overuse of a perceived
rule from a more ‘prestigious’ variety of the language. An example from English is as
follows: instead of saying ‘There’s no difference between you and me’, a style shift to
more formal speech would be ‘There’s no difference between you and I’. Conversely, a
shift from formal to informal will be marked by greater use of informal speech features.
Another type of style shift occurs when we change our style in response to our audience.
An example is when an adult speaks to a baby in ‘baby language’, or again, when a
newsreader stops using their personal speech style and begins to use their ‘newsreader’
style.
There are a number of theories for why people change their personal speech style. The
first was put forward by William Labov in the 1960s. Labov studied the speech patterns of
people in New York, and in particular the pronunciation of Ir/ – the inclusion of this sound
being seen as high status. Labov found that because people were aware of the higher
status of this sound, when they were asked to do a task that needed their attention such
as reading aloud, they were more likely to produce the sound. On the other hand, when
asked to do something which involved their emotions, like telling a story, they paid less
attention to the sound. This is called the Attention to Speech model. Another theory, the
Communication Accommodation Theory, developed by Howard Giles in the 1970s, says
that style shift may be convergent, i. e. it moves closer to the speech style of the person
or people with whom we are talking, or it may be divergent, i. e. it moves away from the
other person’s speech style. The shift is most commonly convergent when people find
similarities in their background, social class or even shared interests and likes. In a later
theory, the role of the other speaker or audience is emphasised further. In 1984 Allan Bell
proposed the Audience Design Model. In this theory, individuals shift their style to win
the approval of the people they are speaking to.
Whatever reason is closest to the truth, whether we pay more attention to how we say
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something, express social solidarity or seek the approval of our audience, it is clear that
everyone possesses the ability to change their language identity according to who they are
speaking to and how they would like to project themselves.
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