... suggests whom you are speaking to has the greatest influence on the type of language you use. In 1970s, Bell studied the varieties of English used by newsreaders on New Zealand radio stations. She found that their pronunciation differed on different stations. Bell discovered that the more 'formal' [t] pronunciation was used frequently on a station with a mainly 'educated' or 'professional' audience, but obviously less on 'general audience ' stations, and extremely least on rock music stations. Bell claims that it is the different audiences for each station that affect newsreaders' speech. It tells that speakers used more 'prestige' or 'high-status'language when talking to people of higher social status. Peter Trudgill (1986) studied his own speaking style in an interview with informants from different social backgrounds. It was found that more glottal stops were used when talking to male informants. He documented his own style shifting to match the style ...

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