Are you very Formal?

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I tend to be very formal in conversations with anyone I speak with. My view is if someone is speaking formally towards you, it means that they respect you.

@ Ferdinand: That is true, however I appreciate it if people talk to me in a formal manner.

My manner of speaking is very inconsistent.

the town where i live has a generally very British 'chav' type of accent, being in the South-East very close to London. but because my parents were from Oxford and therefore very well-spoken (especially my dad's side of the family) i still came to talk in the same way, quite formally. i am very relaxed about my use of speech when i'm around friends so i use a lot of slang but even then my default speech is very grammatical. even people who i've met who live in this area have heard me talk and asked 'are you from around here?' or they tell me they didn't think i was from here because i'm 'very well spoken' in their opinion.

i like to think i can surprise a lot of people by the comparison of my age and image, and what comes out of my mouth i feel a lot more confident talking to older, more formal people because more often than not i understand them more than my peers anyway.

I tend to talk very formal as well.

I do also and to a fault. I actually can't use slang in many cases (I have to hear it used "appropriately") because I sound like someone's grandparent attempting to appear hip.

This is actually a benefit when you are interviewing for a job in most cases.

I am told that I am.

Although I was probably aware of it earlier, I first realised the formality of my speech when I was 17. My mother managed a pub, and one of her regulars commented to her that "your lad talks right posh dunnee?". There's a lot of unusual slang in the local dialect, which I only ever use in a self-derisive manner.

I have made an effort to use contractions in my speech, but I still find it very difficult to 'fit in' with people with a heavy dialect. Despite this, I find people are generally accepting of the way I am. In my view, anyone who judges me on my speech patterns is not worth my attention anyway.

OK, contractions, must remember that.

HaHaHaHa