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A Better Class of Language
For at least
400 years, the way we speak has been one of the fundamental
measures by which we've judged our fellow men on the scale of
social acceptability. To so many, 'talking proper' matters,
and 'rough talk is not quality talk'. But such attitudes are
beginning to change.
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Accent
and social class
Social commentator,
Richard Hoggart, believes that accents are one of several ways
in which we categorise people. Class is a major factor but where
we live also enters the equation. 
Pass
the fish knives
John Betjeman,
in 1954, wrote a poem using words that would be considered distasteful
in the more refined circles. 40 years later, many of them are
very widely used.
The
'right' accent
Concern about
language goes back to the Norman conquest, when speaking French
was seen as high class, according to Lynda Mugglestone, author
of 'Talking Proper'. Adopting the 'right' accent became important
later, in the 18th century ...
The
modern aristocratic accent
Over the last
decade, aspirations to 'talk posh' have declined, maintains
Tony Thorne, sociologist and specialist in contemporary slang.
The 'cut glass accent' is no longer considered desirable even
amongst the aristocracy.
The
new English
Lynda Muggleton
sees Estuary English - a semi-standardised, semi-London accent
used by comedians Ben Elton and Paul Merton among others - as
the new democratic British accent.
It's
good to talk local
Many companies
with telephone call centres base their offices in the North
East because they've found that customers respond well to a
Geordie accent. But nonetheless, the operators adjust their
accents for work.
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