The Unfettered Language :: Speaking Language Essays

The Unfettered Language In advancing through the stages of one’s life, one also advances through different levels and styles of speaking. One’s personal style of language is adapted to fit these distinct periods of life. In citing a language and using words that others are unfamiliar with, many can be left in a state of confusion. Over time there have been many styles of language that we find difficult to understand and relate to. In Keywords, Raymond Williams is able to take a certain language or group of words and show the reader the different forms of the word/language by giving examples and background, thus clarifying some of the confusion that new languages and words can have. One’s whole life is spent around the same types of people and languages, then all of the sudden when leaving that comfort zone that you had developed you feel like you’re lost. To comprehend the different styles of speaking in our society today, one must understand their origins and the context o f their use. The language (group of words) that I am going to discuss in this paper is the one that we speak here at Duke. It is the vocabulary that many students here at Duke speak, as we have matured past our young teen years, but still search for our adult maturity and lifestyle. I will show how the primary language spoken here at Duke is a much more mature and respectful than that of high school language, but explain how it still lacks in maturity compared to adults way of speech. Teenagers growing up in Northern California, like myself, are known for using â€Å"hella†; it’s a word that I have used for as long as I can remember. But when I came to North Carolina for the first time, I said it to someone who in turn asked, â€Å"California, right?† I responded with a stuttering yes. Why is it that these kinds of things happen? How is it that a single area on the world’s map, or a single group of people start using words that no one else understands or uses? To say that there is just one explanation does not fully justify it. I remember my mother and father being completely confused by what I was trying to say back in high school when my friends and I used words like hella (meaning â€Å"a lot†) and hit (meaning â€Å"hideous†).