Chav talk, u sure about dat?

Let's not deny how we think it looks silly when we see someone writing like 'dis', instead of 'this', or 'tru' rather than 'true', unless of course you are one of these people, in which case you're probably now thinking 'woteva'. Like tattoos and piercings, it's not seen as socially normal way of being by everyone. It can be frowned upon, people might think you're typical teen trying too hard to stand out. This is what's known as divergence.  I've heard people talking like this as well, like 'alright bird can you lash me da...' or something along those lines, then I can't always get my head around the rest. It's something sounding very out of place standing next to my friends and I. I mean, we talk 'chav like' sometimes, but it's on purpose. And it's to make a point of being stupid. And I say the word 'chav' because this is the word a lot of people use to describe this way of talking. But is fair that people who may seem to be making a point of being independent, such as those who dress differently, listen to alternative music, make a point of being socially awkward, and the list goes on, are immediately labelled as this? If you don't think so, Professor of Psychology and Linguistics at the University of California, Howard Giles, knows exactly how you feel. He researched what's known as convergence. He noticed that after he moved to America, his dialect would shift to American when he was asked by his English relatives about American TV, music, and stuff like that. He realised that this change was, on a subconscious level, done to show to his family that he was "no longer a recent immigrant to the United States, but now a fully fledged American citizen who has embraced many American ideals". Or so Bryan B, Whaley and Wendy Samter tell us in their book Explaining Communication. Researcher Henri Tajfel, British Social Psychologist, also tells us in his book Social Identity and Intergroup Relations, based on his Social Identity Theory that 'the "intergroup extreme" is that in which all of the behaviour or two or more individuals towards each other is determined by their membership of different social groups or categories.' What Tajfel is basically saying here is a lot of your behaviour is determined by your friends. So, could it be that that apparently so loud and boisterous, perhaps foul mouthed teen speaking may not be trying to stand out and be judged as a whatever they want, but instead just desperately trying to fit in with everyone else? Or could it be that we are too quick to judge? And at any cost... Do you really care?

 

So, my fellow chavs, when you talk lik dis, we know exactly what you're doing, know your little secrets and how you just want to fit in. You've been sussed! Or have you?

By Liliah Gerrard