Types of Englishes

Every day, I use English to communicate with the people around me. I use English to share my thoughts and opinions and to say what I think. However, my English is not always the same. The way I speak changes with the different people I talk to. Around my friends, my English is very informal and casual. When I speak to my friends, I feel very comfortable and don't feel like I'm being judged or that I need to speak a certain way to impress them. People my own age are easiest to talk to because we all speak in similar ways and can easily understand each other. When I'm around people my age that I'm not familiar with, I'm more quiet and say things that I think they would want to hear. When I'm with my close friends, I know they won't' judge me for what I say, so I don't feel the need to be quiet.

Family, on the other hand, while I'm still very comfortable speaking to them, I don't always say certain sayings that I say around my friends. My parents don't always know or understand popular sayings or slang that teenagers use. I still always say what I think around my family, I just don't say it in the exact same way that I would say it to my friends. The way I speak to my family is in between the way I speak to friends and the way I speak to authority figures, such as teachers and coaches. When I speak to teachers or coaches, I try to speak very formally and use proper grammar. I do this because I feel like I have to speak a certain way to try and impress them and make them think of me in a certain way. I don't use any slang and I try to sound very mature.

The way I speak is definitely influenced by the people I'm around and my comfort levels. The more comfortable I am, the less formal I am, and the less I feel that I'm going to be judged. My three Englishes help my express my thoughts to certain groups of people. The way you speak can be very powerful because depending on the way you say things, you can get messages across in different ways.