Do you alter your speech?

[Kyle]

Do you ever find yourself altering your speech based on who you're talking to, how you're feeling, or how you'd like to present yourself to others? For example speaking quietly, loudly, putting on different accents, using different vocabularies.

Lots of us have or know people that have starkly different phone voices, radio djs are said to develop dj voices when on air and healthcare professionals seem to have their own doctor voices and words when talking to patients. How many voices do you think you have?


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[AgnesIO]

Yes, without a doubt.

If in a meeting I almost certainly do a bit of upward convergence, likewise when speaking to internationals I tend to tone down my language.

I have a friend who sounds insanely posh when speaking to certain relatives, hilarious to hear!

[Nick]

Yes, I would say I am loud around family and friends. When I go out and see other people like in shops and they ask me for help or something I try to sound clear and all that and when they walk away im like what the hell i talk like that?

[Martin]

I have a different voice whenever I have to go on a checkout at work omg, it's so weird and I can't explain it!


I have also developed a slightly welsh tinge to my accent whilst at college which again is weird considering it's not even in wales. I think its because I'm going to Cardiff Uni in September, I'm just internally preparing or something! Either way its subconsciously happening!

I'm also a lot quieter and stuff at work than I am home etc if that counts. I ramble a lot when at home but tend to stick to limited conversation at work.

[Alkaz]

When I am speaking to my friends from up north I do find that I use their dialect just to me everyone's lives easier to understand. I also change depending on who I am talking to, clients, my boss, friends etc.

[dbgtz]

I don't think I change the way I speak at all. Some people have asked me to use simpler language, but I find it difficult :P

[FlyingJesus]

Not particularly, when I have drunk far too much I tend to slip and drop my Ts a bit but generally I'm not big on swearing or whatever whoever I'm in front of so I don't need to regulate my speech really, just not something that's a major part of my dictionary

[lawrawrrr]

I have a "radio voice", a "phone voice" and a "talking to grandparents voice" which are all very similar - a slightly posher version of my landan twang... I don't really think about it though, just do it :p


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[Ekelektra]

When I talk to people I don't really know and on the phone my voice goes higher definitely and if I'm nervous I mix up words.

Also I sometimes notice that around my immediate family my accent is stronger.

[A]

Yeah, I do this all the time to be quite honest. Depending where I am as well usually makes me alter it.

[Empired]

Yeah, I tone down my accent for school and on Skype and things because I hate how posh I sound. I used to get being picked on for being quite smart at school (lol i know) so I used to pretend to sound dumb too.

[Calum0812]

If I'm saying anything to a large group of people then I tend to pronounce words a lot more and tone down on the accent, apart from that not really!

[Kimmy]

I alter my speech when I'm talking to people at college. When I moved from Scotland there was few people who understood my accent and so I sort of tried to put the same edge on it as they do?
Idk if that makes sense, but I've sort of developed a self-conscious method of speaking.

[welshcake]

I actually started to alter my voice when I started university because I have a strong Welsh Valley's accent. It was part embarrassment and part wanting people to actually understand me.

[buttons]

a lot of the time because same as that ^ embarrassment of the words i say/way i pronounce it but mostly so people can understand me.

[benzoberzerk]

Everyone does this, whether it's conscious or not. The social context is key to how we use languages, as our way of communication depends on what situation we're in (for example, see the ethnography of communication analysis and Dell Hymes with his SPEAKING model http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnography_of_communication).

This is how our linguistic repertoires are created. By interacting with people from different social cultures and by experiencing different kinds of social interactions with different kinds of people, our default settings will include a little bit of everything. Therefore we're able to talk and write academically at school yet have really easygoing conversations with our friends. We're able to get drunk and hook up with someone one evening yet do fine at court or church a few hours later.

Basically, the definition of "social competence" (which is something you're expected to have) is being able to adjust to the situation you're in. If you can't do this you're pretty screwed.

[iBlueBox]

All the time in work, especially when selling, the fact its in the trafford centre means we get people from everywhere in the country

[Showder]

I have this "radio voice" and I tend to have this slight English accent when speaking to my old classmate because I came from a British school before. I also have my current "school voice" which comprises of a slightly odd American/Filipino slang cos' I'd normally get picked on for my real voice and the such.

[Sho]

I have my normal voice and then one that I use when I'm at work and stuff
didn't even notice that I spoke differently until someone pointed it out

[Matt]

I think most people do tbh. I know that I definitely do. At work I make sure I'm clearer when I talk and have to make sure I'm loud enough for them to hear me. With friends I'm too loud, swear way too much and probably talk really fast (but they can still understand me). With family I'm a lot more quieter and composed and make sure I behave myself (also not allowed to swear that much around mum+dad). I change a lot around people I don't know or if I'm talking to a group of people where I don't know everyone. I become quieter in those situations!

[-:Undertaker:-]

It is natural to alter your speech depending on the context of where you are/who you are with and so on.

So aye.