1080: Salient Variables Nov 23, 2017

There are many different accents and dialects of English spoken all over the world, but since this is the same language, the differences will only be slight. Even if people do not know the linguistic academic terminology, people are generally able to pick out the ways variation appears, such as how the same sound can appear two distinct ways in the same context, e.g. rhotic or non-rhotic R in a New York and London accent respectively. When people are aware of this difference, it is called a 'salient variable'. Not all variables can be called salient for every person, which could be a small part of the reason why some people are bad at putting on other accents. These variables can also be emphasised or diminished in order to adapt to situations, and appear either more or less to belong to a certain group.