ABSTRACT
Before you read this chapter, think about how the language you use changes as you encounter different people in different situations and different contexts throughout a typical day. How would you describe the language you use when you are talking with a close friend? Your pastor, priest, or rabbi? A clerk at the grocery store? One of your new colleagues? An elementary school, middle-school, or high-school student? Why does your language change in these different settings? Think also about how your language is different today from what is was like when you were 12 or 13 years old. Why is it different today?
