TED TALKS

Here is an inspirational and thought provoking talk from an interesting lady. Most people would recognise that they have more than one way they talk to people. How many times have we commented that someone has a 'telephone voice'? This lady contends that she has three forms of spoken English. One that she use at home, one with her friends and one that she uses in school. I reflected on this and came to the conclusion that I too have several forms of spoken English. I use informal English with my friends, formal English on the telephone to institutions such as banks etc and a very casual English with my family which will include family 'in jokes' and references. But I also have discovered that I speak a very correct, precise English when teaching in college. My enunciation is clearer, I think about the construction of the sentences and the grammar I am going to use. I think if we all took a moment to consider, we may be able to identify more versions of spoken English that we use, possibly without thinking about it.