Abstract

This exploration will move beyond the sociolinguistics often applied to 'race' and ethnicity focusing more on how 'code switching' may be used to help people traverse class boundaries. This may manifest in situations such as the ‘North-South divide’ in England but can be more nuanced considering not only geographic region but how people access different spaces by softening or perhaps ‘neutralising’ aspects of their identity from their accent. How many times do people make judgements based upon a person’s word pronunciation or overall speech pattern? Then comes the question as to whether someone is able to maintain their authentic voice to still gain access to these spaces or do they adapt and ultimately conform to the expected 'norm'? Can and does 'code switching' help those same people re-gain their capital? When they do, can they then leverage these positions to bring about a change of perception of identity based on the words someone uses. Ultimately does changing the way we or others speak change how we relate to our past, our heritage and does it therefore influence how we shape our present and future?