--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s often thought that the only function…" description: "\"“It’s often thought that the only function of pronunciation is to facilitate intelligibility; but it is also there to express personal or group identit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/david-crystal-8647_group-identity_it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-functio_2012055.png" --- # It’s often thought that the only function of pronunciation… ![“It’s often thought that the only function of pronunciation is to facilitate intelligibility; but it is also there to express personal or group identity.” quote by David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/david-crystal-8647_group-identity_it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-functio_2012055.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/david-crystal-8647_group-identity_it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-functio_2012055.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/david-crystal-8647_group-identity_it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-functio_2012055.png) > ““It’s often thought that the only function of pronunciation is to facilitate intelligibility; but it is also there to express personal or group identity.”” [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pronunciation serves both clarity and identity, signaling who we are individually or socially. **In simple terms:** Pronunciation shows who we are. Key Takeaway Mind how you speak to reflect identity. Themes language identity communication Mood thoughtful analytical Type educational reflective When to use this quote - public speaking - language teaching - multicultural workplaces - media broadcasting Key Concepts phonetics social signaling group identity Questions to Reflect On - How does accent affect perception? - Can you balance clarity and identity? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on identity may hinder mutual understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Group identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/group-identity/) ## Related quotes > [“Intelligibility or precision: to combine the two is impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/intelligibility-or-precision-to-combine-the-two-is-impossible/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Human history has no unique pattern of intelligibility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-elvin/human-history-has-no-unique-pattern-of-intelligibility/) [Mark Elvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-elvin/) > [The growing child must derive a vitalizing sense of reality from the awareness that his individual way of mastering experience (his ego synthesis) is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/the-growing-child-must-derive-a-vitalizing-sense-of-reality-from-the/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [I don't see tribalism ever really disappearing entirely. I just think that people are almost hardwired to identify as groups. And that sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/i-don-t-see-tribalism-ever-really-disappearing-entirely-i-just-think/) [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) > [With artists of my own generation there was at first no group identity - and never a clique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-noland/with-artists-of-my-own-generation-there-was-at-first-no-group/) [Kenneth Noland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-noland/) > [Conformity is the only real fashion crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-doonan/conformity-is-the-only-real-fashion-crime/) [Simon Doonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-doonan/) > [To me, a person's identity is composed of both an 'I' and a 'we.' The 'I' finds itself in love, work, and pleasure, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/to-me-a-person-s-identity-is-composed-of-both-an-i-and-a-we-the-i/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [One's worth and self-regard ought to come from individual competitive performance, not from group identity. Pride based on clan or tribal connections is atavistic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-henry-iii/one-s-worth-and-self-regard-ought-to-come-from-individual-competitive/) [William A. Henry III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-henry-iii/) > [Unlike sharing, where the group is mainly an aggregate of participants, cooperating creates group identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/unlike-sharing-where-the-group-is-mainly-an-aggregate-of-participants/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [“When we use power and group identity, we hold ourselves separate from other groups of people, and demonstrate our beliefs that some of use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-davar/when-we-use-power-and-group-identity-we-hold-ourselves-separate-from/) Yasmin Davar > [“Antisemitism is a very peculiar pathology that recognizes no national borders. It is a mental condition conducive to paranoia and impervious to truth. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/antisemitism-is-a-very-peculiar-pathology-that-recognizes-no-national/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [By encouraging Americans to adopt a group mentality, the advocates of so called 'diversity' actually perpetuate racism. Their obsession with racial group identity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/by-encouraging-americans-to-adopt-a-group-mentality-the-advocates-of/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [You know, one of the ways we adapted to not being free was to think that our group identity was again, the way we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/you-know-one-of-the-ways-we-adapted-to-not-being-free-was-to-think/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Southerners are also like ethnic groups in that they have a sense of group identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelton-reed/southerners-are-also-like-ethnic-groups-in-that-they-have-a-sense-of/) [John Shelton Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelton-reed/) > [London's got less of a group identity because it's a melting pot and it's bigger. Whereas if you're from Glasgow or Newcastle or wherever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/london-s-got-less-of-a-group-identity-because-it-s-a-melting-pot-and/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) ## More by David Crystal > [I don't have any particular desire to see words making a comeback. They are of their era, after all, and that is their identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/i-don-t-have-any-particular-desire-to-see-words-making-a-comeback/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [In effect we are, bending and breaking the rules of the language. And if someone were to ask why we do it, the answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/in-effect-we-are-bending-and-breaking-the-rules-of-the-language-and/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [There's an old little jingle: 'The chief use of slang is to show that you're one of the gang.' What that means is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/there-s-an-old-little-jingle-the-chief-use-of-slang-is-to-show-that/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [The death of a language. The word has the same kind of reluctant resonance as it has when we talk about the death of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/the-death-of-a-language-the-word-has-the-same-kind-of-reluctant/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [One of the places the full stop is really being revised in a really fundamental way is on the Internet. You look at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/one-of-the-places-the-full-stop-is-really-being-revised-in-a-really/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [Language itself changes slowly but the internet has speeded up the process of those changes so you notice them more quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/language-itself-changes-slowly-but-the-internet-has-speeded-up-the/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [We are rearing a generation of kids who are more equitable and more understanding about the existence of language variety and why it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/we-are-rearing-a-generation-of-kids-who-are-more-equitable-and-more/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [Sending a message on a mobile phone is not the most natural of ways to communicate. The keypad isn't linguistically sensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/sending-a-message-on-a-mobile-phone-is-not-the-most-natural-of-ways/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [It took three years to put Shakespeare's words together, there were a lot of words to be studied and a lot of words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/it-took-three-years-to-put-shakespeare-s-words-together-there-were-a/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [Likewise, there is no evidence that texting teaches people to spell badly: rather, research shows that those kids who text frequently are more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/likewise-there-is-no-evidence-that-texting-teaches-people-to-spell/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [“Here are three elements we often see in town names: If a town ends in “-by”, it was originally a farmstead or a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/here-are-three-elements-we-often-see-in-town-names-if-a-town-ends-in/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [There's nothing unusual about a single language dying. But what's going on today is extraordinary when we compare the situation to what has happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/there-s-nothing-unusual-about-a-single-language-dying-but-what-s/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [Enshrined in a language is the whole of a community's history and a large part of its cultural identity. The world is a mosaic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/enshrined-in-a-language-is-the-whole-of-a-community-s-history-and-a/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [You don't usually get a compound word where the first part is a slang thing and the second part is a rather ordinary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/you-don-t-usually-get-a-compound-word-where-the-first-part-is-a-slang/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [Swearing makes an excellent relief mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/swearing-makes-an-excellent-relief-mechanism/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) [Explore all 79 David Crystal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) ## More Group identity quotes > [The growing child must derive a vitalizing sense of reality from the awareness that his individual way of mastering experience (his ego synthesis) is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/the-growing-child-must-derive-a-vitalizing-sense-of-reality-from-the/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [Southerners are also like ethnic groups in that they have a sense of group identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelton-reed/southerners-are-also-like-ethnic-groups-in-that-they-have-a-sense-of/) [John Shelton Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelton-reed/) > [You know, one of the ways we adapted to not being free was to think that our group identity was again, the way we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/you-know-one-of-the-ways-we-adapted-to-not-being-free-was-to-think/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [By encouraging Americans to adopt a group mentality, the advocates of so called 'diversity' actually perpetuate racism. Their obsession with racial group identity is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/by-encouraging-americans-to-adopt-a-group-mentality-the-advocates-of/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Antisemitism is a very peculiar pathology that recognizes no national borders. It is a mental condition conducive to paranoia and impervious to truth. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-goldstein/antisemitism-is-a-very-peculiar-pathology-that-recognizes-no-national/) [Phyllis Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-goldstein/) > [“When we use power and group identity, we hold ourselves separate from other groups of people, and demonstrate our beliefs that some of use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-davar/when-we-use-power-and-group-identity-we-hold-ourselves-separate-from/) Yasmin Davar > [Unlike sharing, where the group is mainly an aggregate of participants, cooperating creates group identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/unlike-sharing-where-the-group-is-mainly-an-aggregate-of-participants/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [One's worth and self-regard ought to come from individual competitive performance, not from group identity. Pride based on clan or tribal connections is atavistic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-henry-iii/one-s-worth-and-self-regard-ought-to-come-from-individual-competitive/) [William A. Henry III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-henry-iii/) > [To me, a person's identity is composed of both an 'I' and a 'we.' The 'I' finds itself in love, work, and pleasure, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letty-cottin-pogrebin/to-me-a-person-s-identity-is-composed-of-both-an-i-and-a-we-the-i/) [Letty Cottin Pogrebin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letty-cottin-pogrebin/) > [Conformity is the only real fashion crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-doonan/conformity-is-the-only-real-fashion-crime/) [Simon Doonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-doonan/) > [With artists of my own generation there was at first no group identity - and never a clique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-noland/with-artists-of-my-own-generation-there-was-at-first-no-group/) [Kenneth Noland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-noland/) > [I don't see tribalism ever really disappearing entirely. I just think that people are almost hardwired to identify as groups. And that sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/i-don-t-see-tribalism-ever-really-disappearing-entirely-i-just-think/) [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) > [London's got less of a group identity because it's a melting pot and it's bigger. Whereas if you're from Glasgow or Newcastle or wherever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/london-s-got-less-of-a-group-identity-because-it-s-a-melting-pot-and/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [“When culture only rewards the assertion of group identity (black, female, queer etc.), the silent majority will want its slice of the identitarian pie.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sohrab-ahrmari/when-culture-only-rewards-the-assertion-of-group-identity-black/) Sohrab Ahrmari > [Utopianism also attempts to shape and dominate the individual by doing two things at once: it strips the individual of his uniqueness, making him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/utopianism-also-attempts-to-shape-and-dominate-the-individual-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 20 Group identity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/group-identity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s often thought that the only function of pronunciation is to facilitate intelligibility; but it is also there to express personal or group identity.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Crystal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-function-of-pronunciation-is-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Group identity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-function-of-pronunciation-is-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/david-crystal-8647_group-identity_it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-functio_2012055.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/david-crystal-8647_group-identity_it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-functio_2012055.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/david-crystal-8647_group-identity_it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-functio_2012055.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s often thought that the only function of pronunciation is to facilitate intelligibility; but it is also…” — David Crystal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Crystal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It’s often thought that the only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-function-of-pronunciation-is-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/it-s-often-thought-that-the-only-function-of-pronunciation-is-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```