Speech Patterns In My Culture

When interacting with fellow members of their culture, individuals use speech patterns like dialects and vernacular, communicating a sort of inclusion to the group. Dialects vary among different regions depending on the distinct uses of the language, such as accents and pronunciation, of those who inhabit the area. Vernacular also varies among different cultures as the use of language structure differs in ways such as grammar. When one interacts with others of another region that use a different vernacular or dialect, they can become more aware of their own identity as these differences accentuate the distinctness across cultures.

At a young age, my family moved from Los Angeles to Houston, and while I lived in Houston for most my life, I noticed that my style of speech differed from those around me. Unlike others in Houston, I would not speak with the typical Texan dialect. While I barely lived outside of Texas, people still asked me where I was from because I would

As it has now become a habit to speak more standardized English, friends in Houston point out that my way of speaking has changed, claiming that Austin has “changed” me. While to me it does not seem to have changed anything, to others who noticed the difference in my speech, my identity had been altered. I was not longer seen the same within my culture when I tried to return. These variations of language that I use have become a sign of my inclusion within a certain culture. Without my Los Angeles dialect, the relationship that I experience with my family would be different. I would not feel the inclusion that I currently do when communicating with them with our similar speech patterns. In the case of the evolution of my Houston vernacular, I am no longer as included as my different way of speaking makes me an outsider to the culture that I was a part