WORD OF MOUTH BBC 4 - UNDER THE INFLUENCE:

THE AFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON LANGUAGE:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p9l1x
NOTES: *brain organises words semantically. EG: easier to name animals than letters beginning with a certain letter. - with alcohol in system there's repetition and longer pauses between the words, repeating the letter sound to trigger memory of words.
*structural priming - copying structure, linked to effort as copying is easier and facilitates conversation as speaker thinks they are being paid attention to. Drunk people can carry on a conversation as this is heightened although this might not be up to standard if sober.
*students are drinking more - ''it makes you more at ease when speaking to people'', ''bonding process''. ''It's acceptable and you can justify anything with alcohol'', ''whatever you don't say sober you will say drunk.''
*we are driven to coin new phrases for being drunk and to explain how it felt, link to being killed 'slaughtered', 'wasted' - element of self-destruction/binge, the word 'binge' rarely featured in the news until this skyrocketed and features approx 300 times a year. 
*conversation is what defines a pub and the thing that makes a pub popular is the buzzing atmosphere, not necessarily volume but the bubbly vibe. Singing in pubs is very popular if the song has a strong male lead with a high chest voice w high energy EG: Freddie Mercury. > becoming a folk tradition
*how is the quality of our voice affected by alcohol? singers don't avoid alcohol although they are cautious of it's influence on the vocal chords. 

SUMMARY:
It's a well known fact that alcohol impairs us and slows our reactions and this isn't only true for physical activities such as driving but also for our mental processes and recall. Studies have found that we struggle to perform well in recall tests of words beginning with particular letters and when this was tested the participants often found themselves stuttering and repeating the sound they were told to recall. However alcohol doesn't always have a negative or slow impact on speech as many student have said it improves their confidence and allows them to keep a conversation flowing; structural priming (the copying of the sentence structure someone just used) is a perfect example of how drunk people are able to sustain a conversation for longer than they may have been able to do sober.