Language, through its distinctive and differing forms of
expression, can inevitably give a specific class of people a form of
identity. These dialects can be either
inclusive or exclusive based on the culture of said group. One example lies with Formal English, with
which this paragraph is written, is a language that can be taught and spoken in
almost any defined setting where formality is appropriate. However, a colloquial slang is a language
that is not entirely accepted in any defined setting. As a teenager in school, one may find that slang
is acceptable when Formal English may not.
However, in a formal workplace, slang is not acceptable under any
circumstances.
One example of a formal sentence could be:
The young man became fully enraged and excerpted his anger
in a rather grotesque nature.
How we speak, though its different sometimes, determines who
we are. The languages we speak can
welcome or exclude anyone at any given time.
Standard English is one example because it’s the normal English we speak
every day. It’s simply natural. Then there’s Formal English that has a few
gray areas. In most cases it can be
spoken practically anywhere. But then
there are places where it is too quote on quote “formal” for an occasion. In school Standard English is entirely
acceptable because it is literally how we speak. Formal English may not be acceptable based on
the culture of the school you’re in. In
a school like McMahon, where slang is more predominate than formal, Formal
English would not be widely accepted.
One example of a standard sentence could be:
The guy was really mad and he let it all out in a pretty
weird way.
How a person talk sometimes different. But a right cuh would know that your either
in or your out. Thats just how it is. All these guys speaking formal n’ shit. Thats for work and stuff bro. That stuff dont fly around here cuh. A straight n*gga would know that. If they think that shit flies then they can
come down. In McMahon you either speak
normal or you don’t. Theres no gray
area.
One example of a “slang” sentence could be:
This n*gga was wallin’.
Then he started actin sus as f*ck.
Formal, Standard, and Colloquial
English follow suit to a standard societal hierarchy. It starts at the top with Formal, then goes
to the bulk where Standard is, then reaches the bottom with slang. Society built to look at it that way, its not
fair but I mean oh well. At the peak of
the chain, those of formal spoken English regard within their language a set of
grammar rules and principles that give them a sense of “formality” and thereby
benefit from the social cues of society.
A sense of strict grammar puts a “civilized” look on people. And then the bottom chain gets nothin’, like
they don’t exist. At the opposite end of
the spectrum society grants slang an immature, barbaric label.
No matter what we language one
speaks in, society place a label upon you.
In Norwalk, those who speak in the “formal” dialect will be deemed well
educated and most likely wealthy. Those who
speak with slang will then be labeled less educated and less financially
fortunate. Is this entirely correct in
all cases? No. That is just what label
society puts on a particular person.
When writing above, the most difficult to speak was colloquial. This was puzzling because, in fact, I spend a
lot of time around slag at Brien McMahon.
Those who speak in slang have only a handful of words to choose
from. Occasionally, words are made up
but, unfortunately the “dictionary of slang” is rather bleak. In contrast, Formal English is the easier to
type in due to its wide array of words to choose from. Standard English, however, is the easiest
simply because it is the dialect I speak in.
In my opinion, Standard English is defined as the common ground between
formal and slang; it is the middle class so to speak where the bulk of the
population exists. As you may have
noticed in the first paragraph of my Recap
I rotated between each dialect with each ongoing sentence. This form of code switching can be extremely
difficult when one is trying to type a complete thought. Simply put, there are connotations, figures
of speech, and just ways of speaking that these dialects don’t share. Identity then, is granted in how we speak,
not in what we say; there is a plurality of methods for one to express their
beliefs and they cannot be interchanged between dialects.
**I apologize if I offended anyone in the writing of this
blog. I do not feel hatred to any race,
gender, ethnicity, language, or religion.
This blog is merely acknowledging that how we speak to one another can
create communities, cultures, stereotypes, or any other societal trait imaginable.
