Language: A Student's Perspective

by Wilfred Harold

I adjust my language in public compared to language at home, for people in society freely judge each other. Throughout the day at home, I’m very comfortable with my language because for the most part, there is no one correcting it as I speak. Language can change in public, talking with friends, and especially in your own private space.

In public, I have to revise the way I speak because I feel I’m being judged all the time. It is important to speak well when you are out in public since it’s the language that matters the most. Also, when I leave home, I tend to fluctuate my language according to the places I attend.

Talking to my friends at home it can be like, “what’s up” or “I hear you” and “y’all should have seen this,” examples of nonstandard English. Conversations among my peers can be quite different; it’s a familiar and customary way of getting our point across. Vulgar language is acceptable then, but around law enforcement you have to choose your words wisely.

First, in my private space I do not have to adjust to the more standard way of speaking. Second, I can rely on my own authority when I speak, so it won’t be a problem for me. Finally, when I’m alone I can still be somewhere else because information is all around me in the form of books, dictionaries, and encyclopedias.

In public, I revamp my language to speak Standard English. Communicating with friends, I’m more casual. When alone in my own private space, I don’t have to watch what I say or how I say it. 
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Wilfred Harold is a student at North Harris College in Houston.