Slang Is Well Bad, Is It?

David Lammy is in the news for telling some school kids not to use slang in job interviews. He told them that using 'innit' and 'izzit' won't help them impress prospective employers.

I love that this is news, as if it is an affront on some culture. It's not because it's not new. I grew up in the East Midlands and we were told not to use slang in interviews too. I didn't consider myself oppressed when we were advised to not address the interviewer with, "Ay up yoth..." I didn't think the rich heritage of my culture would be lost if I held back from saying, 'Ya rate mi'duck?'

The point is, we all pretend to be different in interviews. Not saying 'innit' is no different to me pretending I'm actually a 'team player who can also work individually.' You put on your posh voice, you try not to swear and you claim that your biggest weakness is that sometimes you work too hard. Basically, an interview is all an act, so don't get offended about it.

But when not in an interview setting, I have nothing against the vocal tick of ending every sentence with question like 'innit' but that's because of my partial Welsh heritage and we invented it. So there's lovely, isn't it?

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