Is It The Queen’s English Anymore?

In the UK, although the national language is English, there are plenty of words that come from other places which have become part of the way we talk. Many areas of the country have different regional accents and also different words for the same thing for example in the south potatoes are generally known as just that but in Scotland and the north they can be tatties. These are colloquialisms and are accepted differences in language but what about words that appear briefly in the vocabulary and then disappear again?

These are slang terms and sometimes they do in fact become incorporated into the language but should they? Language is constantly evolving and words and spelling are changing all the time but does that mean we can just make up words and introduce them into everyday speech such as use of the word “bad” to mean good, which can make conversation really confusing for those of us not in the know!

So do we really speak the Queen’s English nowadays; the language that news readers on the BBC traditionally speak? And if the answer is yes then is that what should be taught in schools and should slang terms be banned? Well we ask you, our esteemed members, and you duly responded in your hundreds.

The vast majority of ABers (69%) who replied to our recent poll replied that they would prefer schools to leave out the slang and transitional words when teaching English to our children. But that it was OK to leave in regional dialect and colloquial terms.

20% said that “no” slang and regional dialects should stay in schools – presumably these members feel that language is fluid and that any word should have a chance.

8% of you believed that both slang and regional dialects should be removed from school and that everyone should be taught to speak in a similar way.

And finally only 3% believed that slang was fine as long as it was spoken in Received Pronunciation.

This shows that AnswerBank users on the whole feel that although it is OK to have differences in regional dialect it is probably not a good idea to let our little ones speak like New York rappers when in school. Some comments were made about text speak which is creeping into language and to that we LOL!