Linguistic Code of Class

During a conversation with somebody, you involuntarily show your background. It can be expressed through various means like the choice of words and your pronunciation. For the majority, these  could serve as indicators that shed light on potential origin of the speaker or the type of language they speak, but for people in Britain, these two factors are a sign of class. In this case, the most significant indicator of class is pronunciation.

Vowels and Consonants

It is often said that upper classes are said to be the bearers of ‘correct’ and ‘proper’ language while the lower classes are considered to be ‘incorrect’ or, at times, even ‘lazy’ with it. A common example for this argument is the characteristic feature of the lower class to omit t and drop h. For example, kettle, when spoken by a speaker of the lower class, would sound similar to ke’le, while the upper class would aspirate the t. Yet, while the lower classes omit consonants, the upper classes often drop vowels. This way, half past ten may sound like ‘alf past ten’ or ‘ah pass ten’ in a conversation with a lower-class speaker, though ‘hpstn’ is the most common form for speakers of the upper classes.

Words

Most of us have heard that pardon or even toilet are words that are chiefly used by the lower classes to enhance the status and to be more like the upper classes. However, the mentioned upper classes, at least the older generation, actually use sorry (sometimes what) and loo (or lavatory) to express these concepts. Other words that can help determine the class are serviette or napkin where the first is considered to be a characteristic word of the lower classes, while the second is used mainly by the upper classes. Settee is another great way of finding out the class of your interlocutor. If they use settee or couch with reference to a seat for two or more people, then they are believed to be a from the middle class because those from the upper classes prefer sofa.

References:

Fox, Kate. 2014. Watching the English. The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour. Hodder & Stoughton.