Language - Class and Region

There are many instances when you would hear someone from an upper class of the society commenting about the negativities of the lower class. Most people have the habit of “looking down” on people who cannot match up to their class. This comes out clearly in their language.

Their language (the upper class) is different as compared to the language used by the commoner or middle class. [Stereotype]: A wealthy, upper class person may speak very ‘posh’. They would communicate by a language that is rich in vocabulary, which can force others to do as they are told and the language shows the power they have in the society. Comparing that to a person living in the lower class, the peasantry, would speak a rather different dialect of the same language. The vocabulary would be limited to basic words or ideas, the language used would be the one that be easily subdued by a powerful voice and the language would reflect their submissive nature in the society. A particular example – in India, from where I come from, I get to hear extremes of language. On a 5-star hotel dinner get together, the people are speaking ‘posh’ language with rich words, slight variations in the pronunciations to make it sound more royal and on the other hand, at various homes the language of the lower classes which is comprised of basic words, variations in the pronunciations showing that they lack education or are not used to using better vocabulary as they are said to be ‘submissive’. In one of the articles that I read, one of the ‘dalits’ (lower class) says that our own language – devnagri or Hindi – divides the caste systems. The words that are used to describe us are attached to us, forever.

When it comes to region, the language again starts changing. Every country in this world has their official language. The means of communication is different for each and every country. There are tribes – ethnic minorities in the country itself, other religions that again add other languages to the country. I talk about my homeland, because it is easier for me to relate and I know about the place. Hence, in Gujarat, a native can easily recognise whether the stranger they are talking to comes from which direction (North/South/East/West). There is an immediate difference in dialect. Similarly, here in Antwerp we can realise that a stranger could be from the Netherlands or the Wallonia side. While speaking English, the second most spoken language of the world, there are different variations – the U.S. accent, the Australian accent and the British accent. This shows that no region will share the same way of communications.