ABSTRACT
An English schoolboy would only ask his friend: ‘Wassa time, then?’ To his teacher he would be much more likely to speak in a more standardized accent and ask: ‘Excuse me, sir, may I have the correct time please?’ People are generally aware that the phrases and expressions they use are different from those of earlier generations; but they concede less that their own behaviour also varies according to the situation in which they find themselves. People have characteristic ways of talking which are relatively stable across varying situations. Nevertheless, distinct contexts, and different listeners, demand different patterns of speech from one and the same speaker.
