
This is actually a condition where people speak with two distinct accents. Apparently it's on the rise in the UK.
On the rise? I thought it was already at 100%. We all have our normal voice with our normal accent, and then we have the voice that we use on the phone, in case someone important has called.
I saw it when I was growing up in the north. I'd hear, "Ey up mi duck, phone's ringin'! I'll gerrit! *click* Hello, the Allen residence."
Even then I used to think, "I doubt the Queen has our number."
You can tell when someone is using their telephone voice because they say yourself and myself. "OK, what we can do for yourself is send yourself a letter about this from myself. Is that OK for yourself?"
Apparently the rise of bidialectalism is because we sometimes have to alter our accents to be more easily understood. No, no need. If you have an accent that means no one can understand you, just get a job at a call centre.
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