Allister describes how acronyms tend to spring up all the time in the technology industry - and you have to learn to speak in that language to survive.
The participants were asked to describe how they spoke in their own words.
How do you describe your accent: "Very neutral. Not distinctive. Slight Essex twang when I'm relaxed or visiting my parents."
Have there been other influences on the way you speak: "I lived in Essex until 18 years of age. I then went to Marseille in France to study for two years, spent one year in Hendon, London, then one year in Weybridge, Surrey. I have since lived in Kent."
Do you have skills in languages other than English?: Yes
Other languages: French
Within the tech industry things happen so quickly, invention happens so rapidly there that you constantly having something new, and the tendency is to apply a three-letter acronym to it or a project name or something to... in a s-... Originally I think a lot of it was done to give it some stature, to give it some meaning - if it doesn't have a project name then how can it exist? And, but very, very quickly then that becomes the common language and, and thereafter, the next week something else is invented so you, you find that you do have to talk that language to cope, just to survive.
