Doyle 1 Kenneth Doyle Professor Bolton ENG 101 17 October 2013 My Linguistic Toolbox Whether we realize it or not we all

tend to speak differently depending on whom we are speaking with. Even though it is all English, our speech differs slightly to accommodate the situation and persons that we are interacting with. I find that I generally use three separate types of English when speaking with different people. My Audience directly dictates which form of English I use. I use casual English for social settings and among friends; professional English when speaking in a work or professional environment; and civil English when meeting new people or conversing with someone who is due respect. When conversing with friends or just speaking casually with peers I tend to be more relaxed in the way I speak. For example, Ill use words like yall, sup, and cmon because while socializing amongst peers I feel that there is no need to be formal. In fact, its a time where I should be able to relax and speak freely. In addition, I also tend to swear pretty frequently in conversation with friends, something that I definitely would refrain from while speaking in a professional setting. For example, the other day I was at the beach with my friend Tim and we were talking about the waves. I said something along the lines of, Bro, these fucking waves here blow. Ive been waiting for like weeks now to surf, and it seems like every time we come here, there aint shit for waves. We need a damn hurricane or tropical storm to come by, not touch land or anything, just skim

Doyle 2 by a few miles off the shore, just close enough to throw us some decent waves. Of course I wouldnt speak to just anyone like this, but because of my audience, my circle of friends, I feel comfortable speaking freely and I know that I do not have to worry about offending anyone when cussing. On the other hand, when I am at work or in a professional setting such as an interview or meeting, I speak and approach people in an entirely different way than I would my friends. The type of English I use is much more respectful, proper, while still being assertive. For example, while I was in the Marine Corps, there were many occasions where I would have to give a brief to high-ranking officers and senior enlisted Marines on my capabilities as a Military Working Dog Team. Of course I could not just walk in front of these men and begin speaking to them as though I were with a group of friends. They would view that as completely disrespectful, as well as highly unprofessional. So I knew I had to turn my speech setting to professional. One example of this is when I would introduce myself to a new unit and explain my capabilities as a Explosive Detection Dog Team: Good afternoon gentlemen I would say, being sure to stand tall and project confidence. My name is Corporal Doyle, and this here is my working dog, Laika Looking down at my Explosive Detection Dog, as to introduce her, I am here today to inform you about our capabilities as a dog team and let you know how we can support your unit on the upcoming missions. Im sure you are all aware of the high threat of IEDs in the AO [Area of Operation], what you may not know is that the insurgents have recently changed their tactics, to combat our use of metal detectors, and have made it even harder to detect their IEDs. The one thing that they cannot disguise, though, is the odor that the explosives emit. Our dogs are very proficient and

Doyle 3 have been thoroughly trained to detect over ten different explosive odors, including the most common explosives found in country, HME and Ammonium Nitrate. When I am speaking in what I refer to as professional English, I do not cuss or use slang words because it would be viewed as disrespectful and it could diminish my audiences perception of me. Lastly, the third type of English I use is, in a way, a mix of casual and professional. While speaking to my elders, or while meeting new people I will us what I would call civil English. By that I mean I use words like Sir and Mam but its not so much in a formal sense; it is more along the lines of showing respect and presenting myself in a dignified manner. I speak in this type of English so as to not come off as being rude or impolite while meeting someone, say a girlfriends parents for the first time, because first impressions have a lasting impact on ones perception of another. For example, I would not want to introduce myself by saying: Sup man, Im Ken, hows it goin? If I were to speak using my civil English I would say something along the line of Nice to meet you Sir, My name is Ken and go from there. In my opinion, the difference between when I speak civil and when I speak in my other types of English is that while speaking civil I aim to be slightly more polite, rather than being too casual, or on the other end, too assertive. In conclusion, When speaking with people, I find myself choosing between three different types of English while speaking, all dependent on who my audience is at the time, I refer to these as casual, professional, and civil. Everyone has a different type of English that they use depending on the setting and/or the audience they intend

Doyle 4 to speak to. Whether it be consciously or subconsciously, we pick from these various tools in our toolbox of language to help us function more efficiently in society.