Received: 25 August 2022 Accepted: 25 April 2023
DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.12896
RESEARCH REPORT
‘Talking Very Properly Creates Such a Distance’: Exploring
Style-Shifting in Speech-Language Therapists
Ellen Rombouts1
1 Departmentof Neurosciences,
Experimental Otorinolaryngology
(ExpORL), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
2 Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology
Sciences Master Program, KU Leuven,
Leuven, Belgium
3 Quantitative Lexicology and Variational
Linguistics (QLVL), KU Leuven, Brussels,
Belgium
Correspondence
Ellen Rombouts, Department of
Neurosciences, Experimental
Otorinolaryngology (ExpORL), KU
Leuven, Herestraat 49 box 721, 3000
Leuven, Belgium.
Email: ellen.rombouts@kuleuven.be
1680 © 2023 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jlcd
Myrthe Fieremans2 Eline Zenner3
Abstract
Background: In the governmental delineation of the speech-language therapist
(SLT) profession and in preservice SLT education, Flemish SLTs are consid-
ered as gatekeepers of the standard language in Flanders. Yet, most Flemish
clients typically use a colloquial language style. Following earlier research on
how teachers’ language style affects teacher–student interactions, an SLT’s strict
adherence to standard Dutch may potentially evoke perceptions of inequality in
their clients. As a result, Flemish SLTs may find themselves torn between on the
one hand adhering to the standard language and on the other hand adapting to
the sociolinguistic style of their client and establishing trust. In the present study,
we explored SLTs’ views on using standard/colloquial language varieties in their
practice.
Methods & Procedures: Individual semistructured interviews were conducted
with 13 Flemish SLTs who worked with children, adolescents and adults in spe-
cial schools, private practices and hospitals. Interview transcripts were analysed
with reflexive thematic analysis.
Outcomes & Results: Analyses yielded three themes. Switching between styles
was (1) triggered by client characteristics (age, style, therapeutic needs), and it
was shaped by (2) the need for establishing trust and (3) a balance between the
SLT’s professional and personal identity. Notably, most SLTs described partially
converging with their clients’ colloquial style, effectively reconciling their pro-
fessional identity as expert speakers with their personal identity as a colloquial
language user.
Conclusions & Implications: Despite consensus on the role of the SLT as
gatekeeper of standard language, many SLTs felt that colloquial language also
plays an important role as it bolsters therapeutic alliance and rehabilitation
of functional communication. By implementing reflective mixed methods and
integrating the client perspective, future studies should further examine how
authentic style-switching occurs and how various styles used by the SLT are
evaluated by clients in different contexts. These findings may guide the devel-
opment of style-switching as a communicative strategy that can be addressed in
preservice education.
Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2023;58:1680–1696.
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ROMBOUTS et al. 1681

KEYWORDS
diaglossia, sociolinguistic variation, speech-language therapy provision, style-shifting, thera-
peutic alliance

What this paper adds

What is already known on the subject
In Flanders, the existence of various (non-)standard varieties of Dutch may evoke
some tension regarding the preferred variety in a given context. Flemish teach-
ers switch between standard language and colloquial language (style-shifting),
depending on the foregrounding of the transactional or relational nature of the
context. Moving towards students’ colloquial speech builds trust and percep-
tions of equality. Despite the importance of alliance in speech-language therapy,
little is known about how speech-language therapists (SLTs) feel about using
colloquial speech given that they are considered expert speakers.
What this paper adds to existing knowledge
While ‘talking properly’ is part of the SLT’s professional identity, many Flem-
ish SLTs felt that strict adherence to the standard language variety hinders
therapeutic alliance. While standard language was strongly associated with pro-
fessionalism, strict adherence to standard language was used only when SLTs felt
they had to prove their clinical competency or when language scaffolding was in
the foreground. Partially converging with the clients’ language use allowed SLTs
to reconcile their professional identity as expert speaker with personal identity
and authenticity.
What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?
Both colloquial speech and standard speech serve a function in SLT practice.
Therefore, switching between standard and colloquial speech needs further con-
sideration as a communicative strategy rather than instilling in therapists an
ideological, normative stance towards language.

INTRODUCTION language therapists (SLTs) strongly underscore SLTs’ use

Language has the ability to bring individuals closer
together when speakers move towards each other’s lan-
guage use. Following the Communication Accommoda-
tion Theory (Gallois et al., 2005), moving towards each
other’s language can be achieved by adjusting the degree of
formality, using similar lexical items, or adopting similar
language varieties. In contrast to this language conver-
gence, language divergence increases the distance between
speakers as they move away from each other’s degree of for-
mality, word selection or language variety. In Flanders, the
northern part of Belgium, language varieties are situated
on a diaglossic spectrum between dialects and standard
language with many intermediate forms (Auer, 2005; Ghy-
selen & De Vogelaer, 2018), and a widespread colloquial
Dutch co-exists alongside standard Dutch (e.g., Plevoets,
2009). As governmental guidelines for Flemish speech-
of ‘correct’ language without explicit reference to stan-
dard or colloquial language (Flemish Government, 2018,
authors’ translation), it remains unclear which language
varieties SLTs perceive as ‘correct’. This is an important
issue given that SLTs’ choice of style may evoke tension
between their socio-communicative skills and their role
as expert speakers. The present study gauges how SLTs
view their use of standard and colloquial language when
interacting with their clients.
The Flemish co-existence of colloquial and standard
Dutch can lead to tension in expert speakers. For example,
Delarue and Lybaert (2016) found that Flemish teachers
used standard language to model correct language use to
their students and to assert authority, for example when
needing students to pay attention (teacher Sylvie), but
they felt that diverging from their students’ colloquial
style hindered socially oriented interactions. Therefore,

1682
teachers would converge with students’ colloquial lan-
guage to bolster the relationship with their students.
Even though educational policy unequivocally propagated
teachers’ consistent use of standard Dutch, the teach-
ers deliberately switched language styles depending on
the context (Delarue, 2016; Delarue & Lybaert, 2016).
As opposed to the teachers’ situation, governmental SLT
competency delineation does not mention standard or col-
loquial language, and SLTs work in a clinical setting with
populations who have diverse linguistic needs. Because
style-switching is typically influenced by the characteris-
tics of interlocutors, the conversation topic, and the setting
(Bell, 1984; Eckert, 2008), teachers’ and SLTs’ experiences
with style-switching may differ.
Given the impact of language style on interindividual
relations, SLTs need to reflect on their language use and
how it affects the relationship with their client (Bright
et al., 2021). This relationship is nuanced as SLTs and their
clients find themselves in a paradoxical power relation
due to the dual role of the SLT who provides psychoso-
cial support and lends a sympathetic ear as well as asserts
speech-language expertise and controls speech-language
exercises (Farzadnia & Giles, 2015; Simmons-Mackie &
Damico, 1999, 2011). Whereas psychosocial support and
shared decision making, which are central in patient-
centred care, rely on equality and trust (Bishop et al.,
2021; Croft & Watson, 2019; Fourie et al., 2011; Law-
ton et al., 2018), the SLTs’ instructions and corrective
feedback during speech-language exercises bring a more
unequal power balance to the foreground (Farzadnia &
Giles, 2015; Simmons-Mackie & Damico, 1999, 2011). Lit-
tle research has so far explored the evaluations and roles
that SLTs attribute to using Standard Belgian Dutch (SBD)
or Colloquial Belgian Dutch (CBD) as an SLT, yet these
professionals are in a unique and potentially conflicting
position: (partially) adopting a client’s colloquial language
may bolster perceptions of equality (see research in teach-
ers: Delarue, 2016), but such convergence contrasts with
the model of correct and perfect speech that an SLT has
been taught to provide.
In Flanders, each SLT will have received extensive
language and speech proficiency training during their
preservice education. For example, in the Flemish SLT
university programs, students receive intensive language
and speech training for three years, because ‘SLP students
are expected to use the pronunciation of the standard
language’ (D’haeseleer et al., 2016, p. 172, in a study per-
formed at the University of Ghent). According to learning
goals, students ‘need to optimize their own speech and
voice in light of the future profession’, and their speech
should become ‘free of any regional language or accents’
(Study program of the authors’ institution, author’s trans-
lation). SLTs’ focus on perfect language and speech—or at
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‘TALKING VERY PROPERLY CREATES SUCH A DISTANCE’
least a normative stance towards language and speech—
has resulted in discussions on SLTs’ biased assessment
of dialectical varieties during language diagnostics (e.g.,
Clark et al., 2021; Easton & Verdon, 2021; Oetting et al.,
2016; Patterson, 1994; Wolfram, 1992) and in studies on sub-
optimal speech patterns in preservice SLTs (D’haeseleer et
al., 2016). In a study on the language proficiency of Flemish
SLT students, the authors wrote: ‘In the master programs of
SLTs in Flanders, the use of the standard language remains
the norm’. (D’haeseleer et al., 2016, p.172). While learn-
ing goals in preservice education carry a strong focus on
standard language and speech, the authors also remarked
that the ‘question whether SLTs should eliminate all signs
of dialect in their speech is a subject for discussion’
(D’haeseleer et al., 2016, p.173). Furthermore, the Ameri-
can Speech Hearing Association recognizes that ‘all [SLT]
students and professionals should know that there is no
single standard that can be appropriately applied in every
clinical interaction, and that variation is the norm’. (ASHA,
2011). The contrast between the standard language/speech
focus in SLT preservice education and the sociolinguis-
tic diversity in SLT clients opens up the debate: to what
extent do SLTs consider style-switching an important pro-
fessional communicative skill or does the use of colloquial
varieties, in their perception, rather conflict with their
clinical role as an expert speaker? Presumably, these eval-
uations are also shaped by societal views on sociolinguistic
varieties, and therefore, we first need to sketch the Belgian
Dutch context.
The Belgian Dutch linguistic setting
Flanders presents a particularly interesting case of distinct
evaluations of the colloquial and standard language. In the
diaglossic context of Flanders, dialects represent one end
of the continuum, SBD the other end, and many variants
exist in between which are referred to by the encompass-
ing term CBD (Auer, 2005; Geeraerts and Van de Velde,
2013; Ghyselen & De Vogelaer, 2018). CBD is characterised
by lexical or morphosyntactic deviations from SBD, and
has been aptly named Tussentaal, which literally translates
to ‘in-between-language’ (Ghyselen & De Vogelaer, 2018;
Grondelaers & Van Hout, 2011). Phonological and mor-
phosyntactical features of Tussentaal include, for example,
omission of final -t (that, not, what), deletion of initial h-
(have: heb > ‘eb), ge rather than je/jij as the second per-
son singular pronoun, substitution of diminutive suffix -je
by -ke, conjugation of determinants and pronouns (een
auto > nen auto; zijn trui > zijnen trui) or use of double
negation (Ghyselen & De Vogelaer, 2018; Plevoets, 2009).
While Ghyselen and De Vogelaer (2018) demonstrated that
Tussentaal itself is not a monolith and that various degrees

ROMBOUTS et al.
of Tussentaal exist depending on the non-standard fea-
tures realised by the speaker; most features are not region-
specific.
Notably, the co-existence of SBD and CBD in this
region has been shown to create tensions regarding the
preferred form in professional contexts (Delarue, 2016).
While SBD—also named VRT-Dutch after a broadcasting
channel—is used in official documents or during news
broadcasts, it is considered as an ideal that is almost
‘unattainable’ (Grondelaers & Van Hout, 2011) and most
Flemish people, particularly the younger generations,
commonly use CBD not only in their leisure time but
also during professional activities such as formal inter-
views (Ghyselen et al., 2020; Plevoets, 2009). Descriptively
speaking, CBD is widespread (Grondelaers & Van Hout,
2011; Plevoets, 2009), for example, 75% of first-year Flemish
SLT students produced diphthongization ‘errors’, which is
just one speech feature that distinguishes CBD from SBD
(D’haeseleer et al., 2016). SBD and CBD are not only asso-
ciated with different levels of formality, but they also evoke
distinct evaluations in listeners (Grondelaers & Speelman,
2013; Impe & Speelman, 2007; Van Istendael, 1989).
While Tussentaal has historically given rise to some con-
troversy, with some claiming that this variety is indicative
of language decay and laziness to use the correct language
(e.g., Van Istendael, 1989), this variety has gained pres-
tige. In terms of attitudes, studies have shown that SBD,
the traditional variety for formal registers and public com-
munication, is often associated with a language-normative
evaluation and a more traditional form of prestige (Gron-
delaers & Speelman, 2013; Grondelaers et al., 2020; Impe
& Speelman, 2007). In the Danish diglossic context, Kris-
tiansen (2009) observed a new form of modern prestige
(i.e., dynamism) which is associated with an easy-going,
cool competency. Perceptions of Tussentaal as a dynamic
language variety have been demonstrated by various
researchers (Grondelaers et al., 2020; Impe & Speelman;,
2007; Rosseel et al., 2019). While non-linguistically trained,
older generations associated SBD with prestige consider-
ably more than Tussentaal, younger generations attributed
prestige to both SBD and Tussentaal but with important
nuances in the prestige-related evaluation dimensions: in
contrast to the ‘enlightening’ and ‘clear/pure’ perceptions
of SBD, CBD was associated with the dimensions ‘proper’,
‘beautiful’, and ‘civilised’ (Grondelaers et al., 2020, p. 59).
This contrast suggests a distinction between traditional
prestige/competency and modern prestige/competency.
The authors put forward the hypothesis that SBD is a
virtual normative variety that is rarely used but neverthe-
less carries prestige, whereas Tussentaal is considered as
slightly less prestigious than SBD but indispensable and
more dynamic.
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1683
Evaluations of sociolinguistic varieties
By using a particular linguistic variety in a given con-
text, speakers not only express group membership but also,
through their linguistic form, express what it means to be
part of that group (Eckert, 2008). In this respect, style and
style-switching cannot be considered independently from
what it means for SLTs to be an SLT. Yet, it is unclear
how SLTs associate their language style with their profes-
sional role. Notably, governmental delineation of the SLT’s
competencies does not explicitly refer to SBD and CBD.
However, the competencies describe the SLT’s responsi-
bility to have ‘a profound knowledge of the correct use of
Dutch’, to use ‘correct Dutch’, and to ‘adapt the message’s
form, content, and language to the target group’ (Flem-
ish Government, 2018, authors’ translation). This raises a
question regarding which language varieties SLTs consider
as ‘correct’ and whether the prescribed adaption includes
sociolinguistic variation.
Studies on style-switching in SLTs or on SLTs’ evalu-
ations of SBD/CBD use in clinical practice are lacking,
but internal struggles between SBD and CBD have con-
vincingly been demonstrated for Flemish teachers who
were, at that time, instructed by governmental policy to
use SBD in the classroom (Delarue, 2016). While teachers
felt that they should set an example for their students by
using SBD, they also believed that continuously using SBD
could be detrimental to the teacher–student relationship
because students may perceive a teacher who speaks SBD
as someone who feels superior to them (Delarue & Lybaert,
2016). Delarue and Lybaert derived from the teacher inter-
views that style-switching was a deliberate professional
strategy: teachers used the language variety that was most
appropriate at a given moment.
Similarly, caregivers have been shown to navigate
between CBD or SBD as the best fit variety for child-
directed speech. As has been shown for other language
settings (Smith et al., 2007), Flemish parents are more
likely to use standard varieties with young children and
increase vernacular forms when talking to older children
(Van De Mieroop et al., 2016). Focusing on one mother-
father couple’s style-switching patterns, Van De Mieroop
et al. have shown how these style-shifts can be indica-
tive of caregivers’ norm orientations and evaluations. The
mother would self-repair her CBD use, which could be
explained by her stronger normative views on language.
In contrast, the father explicitly stated the importance of
teaching sociolinguistic awareness to his children; and this
aligned with more pronounced style-shifting. His style-
shifting was indicative of the common evaluations of CBD
with solidarity and SBD with prestige (Impe & Speelman,
2007), which resulted in a ‘division of labour’ between CBD

1684
and SBD shaped by the discourse activity: when the ped-
agogical context/goal was foregrounded, the father was
inclined to use SBD, and he would use CBD in situa-
tions that foregrounded the social aspect (Van De Mieroop
et al., 2016). This resonates with the findings from Delarue
and Lybaert (2016) for teachers, who appeared to vary the
degree of CBD features depending on the formality of the
interaction and switch between SBD in a formal authori-
tative context such as classroom instruction and CBD in
informal one-on-one moments with students.
We can expect this type of stylistic variation to be rel-
evant for SLTs’ therapeutic practice too given that SLTs
provide psychosocial support alongside directive therapy
adopting ‘not only a linguistic role, but the role of coun-
sellor, facilitator and advocate’ as well (Lawton et al.,
2018, p.1412). Adopting these multiple professional roles
may perhaps drive style-switching in SLTs, similar to the
division of labour between SBD and CBD reported by
teachers (Delarue & Lybaert, 2016) and observed in the
father’s interactions in Van De Mieroop et al.’s study
(2016). Remarkably, there have been no empirical studies
on stylistic variation in SLTs, even though the SLT context
is characterised by a complex interaction of communica-
tive and clinical competency, as noted by Ferguson and
Armstrong (2004, p.474):
In a profession that requires the clinician’s
communication skills as both the medium and
the content of therapy, it becomes difficult
to disentangle linguistic and socio-linguistic
competence from clinical competence, and all
too easy to conflate lack of clinical compe-
tence with perceived language variation.
To date, one experimental study has reported on the
SBD/CBD attitudes of SLT students (Zenner et al., 2021).
These authors measured SLT students’ attitudes towards
an SLT using SBD and CBD in a transactional context
(i.e., giving verbal instructions and feedback during an
articulation exercise) and in a relational context (i.e., con-
ducting small talk with the client). Starting from the
traditional and modern prestige evaluations observed in
earlier studies (Grondelaers et al., 2020; Impe & Speel-
man, 2007; Rosseel et al., 2019), the students assessed
the SLT’s traditional competence (‘intelligent’, ‘capable’,
‘reliable’, ‘experienced’) and modern competence (‘enthu-
siastic’, ‘funny’, reverse of ‘stiff’) in audio excerpts of an SLT
who used each language variety in each context. Results
did not indicate an increase in positive attitudes regard-
ing SBD in formal therapeutic transactions but did show
a decrease in positive modern competence evaluations
when the SLT spoke SBD in a relational context. Given
that the modern competence encompasses attributes asso-
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‘TALKING VERY PROPERLY CREATES SUCH A DISTANCE’
ciated with warmth rather than traditional prestige, this
finding suggests that a strict use of SBD in a relational
context may negatively affect the patient–client relation-
ship, pointing towards the value of style-switching as a
communicative strategy in building a therapeutic alliance.
Language adaptation in therapy
Therapeutic alliance entails that the therapist and client
build a relationship of equal social status through shared-
decision making and collaboration (Bishop et al., 2021;
Croft & Watson, 2019; Fourie et al., 2011; Lawton et al.,
2018), which requires the therapist to be authentic and
empathic (Bishop et al., 2021; Plexico et al., 2010). Empa-
thy and solidarity attributes that patients greatly value in
an SLT because they make patients feel heard (Fourie,
2009; Lawton et al., 2018, 2020), are also associated explic-
itly with CBD (Impe & Speelman, 2007). Consequently,
the indexical link between language variants and social
attributes such as superiority and equality holds direct rel-
evance for therapy provision. Crucially, then, solidarity
and equality may be conveyed through therapists’ commu-
nication style. From interviews with Irish adults who had
communication and swallowing disorders, Fourie (2009)
extracted several factors that were conducive to the thera-
peutic relationship. One of these conducive factors was the
ability of ‘therapists [to give] out information and feedback
in an easy manner that implied equal social status’ (2009,
p. 991), which raises the question whether communication
adaptation involves not only adjusting linguistic complex-
ity to the client’s language level but also converging with
a client’s style to bolster solidarity in contexts where the
social outweighs the transactional orientation (Delarue &
Lybaert, 2016; Impe & Speelman, 2007). In line with the
Communication Accommodation Theory, we can antic-
ipate therapists diverging from and convergence with a
client’s language use depending on the therapeutic context
(Gallois et al., 2005).
Alongside the therapeutic exercises that typically con-
tain series of verbal instructions, modelling, prompting,
responding and feedback, there is an important role
laid out for interactions that are less transactionally ori-
ented. In addition to the introductory social interaction
at the beginning of the therapy and gauging the client’s
well-being, social interactions continue throughout the
therapeutic exercises (Walsh & Duchan, 2010) in the
form of humour or showing interest in the client’s life.
For example, an exercise item refers to a dog which
leads to the SLT asking ‘by the way, how is Jack, your
dog? Is she still as mischievous?’ Such interactions pro-
vide short moments of rest, to ensure that the session
does not pose too many demands on attention and

ROMBOUTS et al.
concentration, but importantly such social talk—or play-
time talk in the case of children—is also instrumental
in building a patient–therapist relationship (Fourie, 2009;
Fourie et al., 2011; Lawton et al., 2018). In a small-scale
study, Ferguson and Elliot (2001) observed that an experi-
enced SLT devoted relatively more time to building rapport
compared to two preservice SLTs. While the inexperienced
preservice SLTs dedicated a block of time at the beginning
of the session to building rapport, the experienced pre-
service SLT intertwined the relational aspect throughout
the entire session. Successful social rapport is regarded as
a process (Walsh & Duchan, 2010) during which authen-
ticity is key; if communicative strategies to build rapport
are debunked as conscious strategies—for example, a
‘staged’ or mock conversation–, then they are less effective
(Simmons-Mackie & Damico, 2011; Walsh & Duchan, 2010)
because such debunking reveals the social talk as trans-
actional interactions whereby the therapist is in control
rather than relational interactions based on equal status.
This echoes teacher reports that effortful speech from the
teacher decreases interactional spontaneity and increases
the social distance perceived by the student (Delarue &
Lybaert, 2016). Specifically, the more effort teachers must
put into using SBD, the less they can create an ‘authen-
tic classroom context’ (Delarue & Lybaert, 2016). So, not
only the style but also the effort required by someone to
use a particular style, or the degree of conscious adap-
tation undertaken, can shape perceptions of authenticity.
Perhaps, this conscious adaptation, when noticeable to
clients, puts the spotlight on power dynamics: the therapist
is (still) in control. Despite the clear link between style-
shifting and therapeutic alliance that can be hypothesised
from this discussion, it is as yet unclear how SLTs experi-
ence their use of standard or colloquial speech in therapy
contexts. Do they consciously switch between styles to
bolster therapeutic alliance or do they maintain standard
language because linguistic competency is a part of their
professional identity as SLTs?
Purpose
Because the SLT often works in one-on-one interactions
where the client can be considered vulnerable in a nuanced
power dynamic (Farzadnia & Giles, 2015), it leaves the
question of how SLTs reconcile their clinical role of an
expert user of the standard language with the psychoso-
cial need for a balanced power dynamic. Therefore, in the
present study, we have explored SLTs’ views on using SBD
and CBD in their clinical practice, focusing on:
∙ SLTs’ motivations to use SBD and/or CBD and to (not)
switch styles depending on interlocutor and discourse
activity
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1685
∙ the role of SLTs’ language style in therapeutic alliance
METHODS
Research design and ethics statement
The protocol was reviewed and approved by the
Educational-Support Committee of the Research Ethics
Committee UZ/KU Leuven (ID-number MP012001).
All participants gave written informed consent, and all
data were processed in line with the ethical and privacy
guidelines, including the Declaration of Helsinki and
International Conference on Harmonisation Good Clin-
ical Practice principles. The authors report there are no
competing interests to declare.
A qualitative design was adopted, an interview study
using open-ended, semistructured individual interviews.
Open-ended interviews are well suited for exploring indi-
viduals’ perceptions and experiences because the open
design gives participants room to share their thinking pro-
cess (Creswell, 2013) and complex dynamics may arise, as
has been observed in interview studies on SLT practice
(e.g., Bright et al., 2021; Lawton et al., 2018) and in studies
on teachers’ style use (Delarue & Lybaert, 2016; Delarue &
Van Lancker, 2016).
Participants
SLTs were recruited from the Flemish Brabant region in
the centre of Belgium. Inclusion criteria were (1) Dutch-
speaking and (2) actively working as an SLT in the Flemish
Brabant region in the centre of Belgium. The second crite-
rion allowed us to start from a uniform dialect situation,
whereby participants’ clients most likely use the Brabant-
specific Tussentaal, which is widespread and has high
supra-regional indexicality (see also Rosseel et al., 2019).
We opted to exclude SLTs active in other regions in order
to mitigate potential exposure to region-specific language
features in clients’ language use given that evaluations of
region-specific features depend on in/out-group member-
ship (Rosseel et al., 2018) and the region (e.g., Grondelaers
et al., 2020). Due to the smaller number of participants,
we focused on SLTs working in the Brabant region to start
from a more stable, supra-regional Tussentaal exposure
context. Because sociolinguistic variation may be contex-
tually determined, we aimed to recruit a group of SLTs
who represented different SLT settings working with a
diverse client population in terms of age and SLT domain,
making it possible to explore the influence from inter-
locutors/clients and therapy context on CBD/SBD use and
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1686 ‘TALKING VERY PROPERLY CREATES SUCH A DISTANCE’

TA B L E 1 Participant demographics.
Identifier Age (years) Working (years) Clients SLT domains
SLT1 26 4.5 Toddlers, school-aged R, S, M, L, A
SLT2 25 2.5 Toddlers, school-aged R, S, M, L
SLT3 32 8 Toddlers, school-aged R, S, M, L, A
SLT4 54 32 Adolescents L, CCN
SLT5 30 8 School-aged L, A, CCN
SLT6 35 13 School-aged, adults R, S, M, L
SLT7 31 12 Toddlers, school-aged R, S, M, L, A
SLT8 24 2.5 Toddlers, school-aged R, S, M, L, A
SLT9 28 5 All ages R, S, M, L, A, V
SLT10 23 2 School-aged R, S, M, L
SLT11 28 5 Toddlers, school-aged R, S, M, L, A
SLT12 41 19 All ages R, S, M, L, A, D
SLT13 26 3 School-aged adults R, S, L, CCN
Abbreviations: A, articulation; CCN, complex communication needs; D, dysphagia; L, language; M, maths; R, reading; S, spelling; SLT, speech-therapist; V, Voice.

style-switching. Via convenience sampling, SLTs who had Data analysis

no relation to or any prior contact with the researchers
were recruited close to the researchers’ work or home
location in Flemish Brabant. Thirteen SLTs, all female, par-
ticipated. As shown in Table 1, their age ranged from 23 to
54 years (X = 31 years), and they had on average 2 to 32
years of SLT working experience (X = 9 years). Six SLTs
exclusively worked in private (i.e., not public) practice, one
SLT exclusively in special education, and one SLT in a hos-
pital. The remaining five SLTs combined a private practice
with an assignment in special education or in a hospital.
They worked with diverse client populations, both in terms
of age and SLT domain.
Data collection & materials
The interview questions, provided in Table 2, gauged
the participants’ contextual language use and evaluations
of SLTs’ language use and competency. Using neutral
prompts and principles of active listening—paraphrasing,
repeating final words and expectant delay—the researcher
would encourage the participant to elaborate. At first, the
individual interviews were conducted face to face at each
participant’s workplace to lower the threshold for partic-
ipation. The interview was conducted in a separate quiet
room and was audio-recorded for transcription purposes.
Due to a COVID19-related lockdown during the study,
some interviews were conducted online using Skype.
Interview duration averaged 36 min, ranging between
19 min and 60 min. The recordings were transcribed ad
verbatim.
Similar to earlier studies on therapeutic alliance and teach-
ers’ style-switching (Delarue & Lybaert, 2016; Delarue &
Van Lancker, 2016; Lawton et al., 2018), the interview tran-
scripts were analysed with thematic analysis (TA) using
the steps outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006). Transcripts
were analysed with reflexive TA using a primarily induc-
tive and semantic approach within the realist paradigm.
This methodology aligns with the research questions’ focus
on describing the SLTs’ perceptions of their own SBD/CBD
use, factors that influenced their potential style-switching,
and their reasoning behind using particular styles, inde-
pendent from earlier findings such as the teacher inter-
views. Through the development of themes and joining
them in a thematic map, we aimed to bring all these
aspects, as present in the data, together and construct the
‘story’ (Braun & Clarke, 2021) or shared experience of all
the interviewees. With the realist rather than a construc-
tivist approach, we focused more on the content rather
than the form of the SLTs’ reports.
During the first two steps, the researchers became
acquainted with the data and developed codes that sum-
marised the transcripts. After multiple readings of the
transcripts to familiarise themselves with the data, two
researchers—the first and second author—independently
coded the data by paraphrasing the relevant excerpts.
Semantic coding was applied, as illustrated in Tables S1
and S2 in the supplementary materials, which entailed
that codes stayed close to the literal meaning. This cod-
ing occurred organically as no framework or prior coding
schemes informed the coding process. Rather, the codes
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ROMBOUTS et al. 1687

were exclusively based on the raw data. Similar descrip-

tions received the same code, and through a dynamic,
iterative process of re-reading the transcripts, return-
ing to particular codes and fine-tuning them, a coding
scheme was developed. During this process, codes tend to
become more abstract/general as they encompass multiple
excerpts. To provide a summary of the transcripts’ con-
tent, we counted for each code the number of participants
who received that code. However, these counts do not indi-
cate salience or relevance. On the one hand, participants
may not mention factors or phenomena that they consider
as self-evident. On the other hand, a code that has been
mentioned only a couple of times may nevertheless pro-
vide important insights as not every participant engages
in reflection and introspection as easily. The researchers
brought together their two coding schemes and discussed
differences. The aim was not to achieve a consensus cod-
ing, given that we applied reflexive TA (Braun & Clarke,
2021), but rather to reflect on how the coding could have
been influenced by our own position as SLT researchers
who have their own views on CBD/SBD use in SLT prac-
tice. Differences in coding only concerned the level of
abstraction of the codes. Specifically, the first author had
fewer codes due to a higher level of abstraction: one of her
codes would semantically encompass two or more codes
of the second author (example provided in the supple-
Tell me about the style of Dutch you use when talking to your partner, parents, and children?

mentary materials, Table S3). In such a case, we opted for

the more abstract code because this resulted in a more
parsimonious coding scheme that would facilitate the pro-
cess of theme development. Then, the analysis entered
What role do standard language and ‘in-between’ language play in your practice?
Do you think there will be shift in attitude toward using ‘in-between’ language?

a more interpretive stage (steps 3–5 in Braun & Clarke,

2012), during which the codes were examined in relation
Is there a situation in which you would adapt your language to the client?

to each other and organised into themes. Here, the cen-

How do you feel about the language/speech used by your colleagues?

tral focus of the study, that is, exploring mechanisms of

style-switching in a therapeutic context, informed the spe-
Which style of Dutch do you personally find most appropriate?
Do you sometimes vary in your language use during therapy?

cific themes (Braun & Clarke, 2012). Each theme should be

Tell me about the style of Dutch your clients use in therapy.
Tell me about the style of Dutch you use with your clients.

able to stand on its own, and combined they tell the entire
story of the transcripts (Braun & Clarke, 2012). All themes
were integrated in a thematic map, relaying the interre-
Which client populations do you see in therapy?

lation between the themes and giving a synthesis of the

How do you think that an SLT should speak?
Tell me about the type of therapy you give.

participants’ experiences and perceptions.

RESULTS
Interview items

The thematic analysis resulted in a coding scheme with

30 codes (see supplemented Table S2 and Figure S1, for
the link between the map and the codes) and a thematic
map. The Supplementary Materials provide the original
Dutch transcripts of the translated interview excerpts that
TA B L E 2

are cited here to illustrate the results.

Before discussing the thematic map, it is important
∙
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∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙
∙

to provide some reference points concerning the style


1688
FIGURE 1 Thematic map of the speech-language therapist (SLT) interviews.
reportedly used by the participating SLTs. Three SLTs
stated they always use SBD when interacting with clients.
These three SLTs did not report adapting their style to
their client, and in one of these three SLTs CBD would
‘occasionally slip through’, echoing the unintentional
CBD use by the mother in Van De Mieroop et al.’s study
(2016). Most SLTs (n = 10) mentioned some CBD use: two
SLTs stated they predominantly used CBD, and eight SLTs
used a variety that was somewhere between CBD and
SBD and/or they switched between SBD and CBD. For
many of these SLTs, SBD and CBD were on a spectrum
with no clear boundary, which made it difficult for them
to describe the language variety they used:
Gosh yeah, the question; where does standard
Dutch end, where does in-between-language
begin? (SLT 3)
I think that in-between-language is kind of a
vague term. What is it to one person? What is it
to someone else? For me it’s, for example, that
I use ‘ge’* or ‘no’ instead of ‘not’, I think I do
do that. (SLT 7) (*colloquial form of personal
pronoun second person singular)
Importantly, SLTs’ style was flexible along the SBD-CBD
continuum. Pervading the interviews was the view that
style was shaped by (1) a consideration of the client’s char-
acteristics and therapeutic needs, (2) the importance of
establishing trust at a given time, and (3) SLTs’ profes-
sional and personal identity (see Figure 1). These factors
come together in the following SLT’s views as she links her
style with scaffolding children’s language acquisition, bol-
stering the child-therapist relationship, and with her own
identity.
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‘TALKING VERY PROPERLY CREATES SUCH A DISTANCE’
With the little ones, I do speak SBD, with the
little ones who still really have to acquire the
language. Well, not like extreme SBD. Espe-
cially with the ones from the first and second
grade that puts them off. That is often very
‘miss teacher’. That is also not who I am, that
is not my language use. (SLT 10)
This excerpt expresses some tension between the first
two themes: while SBD may scaffold language, too much
SBD may create a distance.
Theme 1: Building trust
Building trust entailed a similar tension as it required
demonstrating both professional competency and solidar-
ity. Evaluations of competency may vary between clients,
which made SLTs carefully gauge their client character-
istics at the beginning of a client–SLT relationship. Most
SLTs, particularly in independent practice, were mindful to
use SBD at the beginning of an SLT-client relationship so as
not to appear incompetent or too familiar, while carefully
gauging the client’s style. One SLT working in indepen-
dent practice described how the father of a new client
lost trust when hearing the SLT’s regional accent during
a more informal phone call between the SLT and a non-
SLT colleague. As soon as clients demonstrated signs of
comfort, trust, openness, and CBD use, the SLT would shift
language style accordingly:
When people come to you for the first time
and they come for an intake, then I start very
formal, but some people are very loose, very
open, and have absolutely no problem with
their children having problems, and then I

ROMBOUTS et al.
will move towards that informal more quickly.
Because you do seem to have that barrier that
they are very casual and that you remain so
very formal. And I think that it’s going to be
much harder for those parents to create a bond
because you then build that distance, or a wall
between the two. (SLT 13)
While using SBD could help build trust by showing the
competency of the SLT as an expert speaker, the evaluation
of SBD as a ‘miss teacher’-style also indicates inequal-
ity/superiority evaluations of SBD. Building a relationship
of equality and trust was associated with increasing CBD
use, which was associated with warmth, ease and comfort:
The role that plays for me is to create an envi-
ronment wherein . . . a warm environment is
created and that there is a sense, an environ-
ment of trust is created by choosing the right
language registers, which the children feel at
ease and compatible with. (SLT 8)
I start to talk in-between-language much more
myself, because these children . . . teenagers,
youths so to speak, because they are also much
more inclined to in-between-language. If you
then talk very properly, that creates such a dis-
tance, and then they are much less engaged in
therapy, so to speak. (SLT 8)
Style-switching and flexibly moving along the SBD-CBD
spectrum could bolster the relationship with the client and
create a safe space. One SLT described switching between
SBD and CBD based on the balance between solidarity and
speech-language needs. Notably, this SLT did not describe
using CBD during a social talk but during a transactional
context—performing a therapy exercise together. Yet, CBD
was preferred here given the high need for trust, solidarity
and collaboration, which is reminiscent of the interweav-
ing of social bonding throughout a session (Ferguson &
Elliot, 2001).
There is a girl from second year secondary
school, she felt very uneasy at the beginning,
apparently with the mother as a child there
was selective mutism, so she is very shy and
does not talk much. Then I noticed that if
I used more dialect terms and in-between-
language, with ‘ge’ and those kinds of words,
she is much more relaxed. So with her I talk
with a lot more dialect sounds, just to give her
the idea of ‘look, this is just between us, I’m
just helping you with this. Do you have ques-
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1689
tions, I help you with them’ like that. [. . . ] That
way she is much more at ease and she has
much less the feeling that ‘I am the teacher
and I am above her in rank . . . No. We’re doing
that together here. How can we tackle that
here together.’ If I adapt my language register
to her, then she is much more at ease. (SLT 8)
This SLT contrasted this situation with ‘another
extreme’ that entailed a clear foregrounding of the trans-
actional context and therapeutic needs. The scaffolding of
language, particularly in children with specific language
needs, was an important reason for deliberate and mindful
use of SBD:
With that child, because many sounds are not
coming through, and language is a weakness,
I try to mind how I should pronounce it very
hard. [. . . ] So, there I very much adapt that to
the right example, to the SBD. (SLT 8)
Theme 2: Client characteristics and
therapeutic needs
When the primary focus of therapy lay on language
remediation, SLTs were strongly inclined to use SBD,
particularly with children. The use of SBD was most promi-
nent when SLTs treated children with language disorders
and language delays, with the rationale that all children
need to know and learn standard language. When a child
came to therapy for non-language related goals, SLTs still
felt that as speech experts it was their role to model SBD
to children, and this professional role was described as
similar to the role of a teacher or parent.
And I think parents maybe too, that they talk
nicer to younger children and that that then
kind of evolves. (SLT 1)
Yes, with the little children I am less inclined
to use dialect or in-between-language. (SLT 11)
When the children start as toddlers, then I try
to take care of my language even more, so that
they will adopt it. (SLT 3)
In interaction with older children, adolescents and
adults, SLTs were more inclined to use CBD because these
clients were also more inclined to use CBD and the need
for language scaffolding was lower. Furthermore, in older
populations with language disorder, the focus often lay on

1690
functional communication rather than language remedi-
ation. Whereas SLTs clearly favoured SBD when treating
children with language disorder or language delay, in
adults with acquired language disorders they mostly stayed
true to how the client spoke before the disorder. A simi-
lar adaptation was described for interactions with young
clients who had complex communication needs.
But I do feel that in-between-language has its
place. Because in the end for a large portion
of the clients it is not just about teaching the
right thing, but also to understand each other,
improve communication in any way possible.
(SLT 12)
Because you need to see, like okay, those
people you need to have them with you
[. . . ]. They are often cognitively a bit weaker.
What are they going to understand? Yess,
the language they are most familiar with.
(SLT 5)
Theme 3: Reconciling professional and
personal identity
Despite the apparent division of labour between CBD and
SBD, the use of style was not entirely deliberate as there
was a reciprocal dynamic. SLTs noted that using SBD was
easier in young children because they tended to use SBD
as well. With the exception of very specific situations such
as the girl with selective mutism quoted earlier, adapting
style was often an organic rather than deliberate process
that developed through experience:
Yes, I do notice that I, the longer I’m working,
the less I’m aware of it or think about it, when
I will use which language or language form.
In the beginning, you’re just working and then
you really want to do everything perfectly and
yeah, then you’re also still nervous and you
are much more aware of it. But now I feel that
after three years, I’m really starting to feel bet-
ter, when you should best use which language.
(SLT 13)
This organic process made it difficult for SLTs to reflect
on their style-switching, which leaves the question to what
extent SLTs actually adapt style over the course of one
therapy session.
I don’t think that that often happens con-
sciously. But I do think that sometimes you
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‘TALKING VERY PROPERLY CREATES SUCH A DISTANCE’
start a conversation, perhaps in standard
Dutch, because you think: ‘I don’t really
know’. and then, half way through, you are
like ‘yeah, no perhaps I can use a bit more
in-between-language here’. and then it tones
down. Or the other way around, (SLT 3)
No, with one client I won’t switch. At least I
think I don’t switch. Perhaps unconsciously I
do, but I don’t think so. (SLT 13)
While insight into switching was more difficult, SLTs did
have an idea of the style they typically used and how their
style compared to their clients’ style. It seems that the CBD-
SBD spectrum allowed SLTs to make smaller, authentic
style-shifts, and converge with clients’ CBD while stay-
ing true to their own personal identity as well as their
identity of speech expert. Through a partial convergence
with clients, that is, using a language variant somewhere
between SBD and CBD that contained more SBD elements
than their clients’ style, SLTs felt more authentic:
So, I very much like being able to be myself
in therapy with those children and then
that is often with the in-between-language.
Not coarse, I mean eh, but with ‘ge’* and
not always adapting my vowels properly and
occasionally omitting a final -n. (SLT 10)
(*colloquial form of personal pronoun second
person)
I do try to stay in touch with the youth. [. . . ]
but it doesn’t suit as an adult to totally go along
with that. I’m not going to send a message to
a patient and put yolo* and all that in there.
(SLT 12) (*slang for ’you only live once’)
In addition, partial convergence meant that SLTs
remained true to their role as speech expert.
As evidenced by references to ‘correct’ and ‘example’,
SBD was clearly associated with the SLT’s role as speech
expert. To most SLTs, the association meant that SLTs
should know SBD and be able to use it when needed. Using
SBD remained part of the SLT’s professional identity, and
hence, SBD was linked to competency:
I think in our job, we have to know standard
language in any case, be able to use it, and use
it most of the time. I only think that we should
adapt a little to our audience. And that we talk
too correctly, almost artificially, and create a
barrier and that can’t be the goal. (SLT 12)

ROMBOUTS et al.
Sometimes in in-between-language and I do
talk nicer than they do. It has to be the right
example, but I can use ‘ge’* and the like. You
see what I mean? (SLT 10)
(*colloquial form of personal pronoun second
person)
There was someone on TV recently, I think.
In a totally different program, ‘I’m a speech-
language therapist’ and talked with a very
ugly accent. Not really dialect but a very ugly
accent. Oops, I do find that very unfortunate
publicity. On TV everyone talks the way they
want of course, but also there (.) that’s sort
of like a policeman who drives under influ-
ence. [. . . ] So I feel that we have to show that
somehow. In the end, you are your own call-
ing card. I think standard language with a bit
of in-between-language is alright. (SLT 12)
Interestingly, one of the three SLTs who felt that an SLT
should always speak SBD was raised by her parents in SBD
and used SBD with her own children. Consequently, SBD
was more closely linked to her personal identity compared
to most of the other SLTs who used CBD outside of work.
Tension between professional identity, with SBD as the
correct language variety, and personal identity, with CBD
as the variety most SLTs used outside the work setting, was
primarily experienced at the beginning of the SLT’s career
due to the emphasis on SBD in preservice education:
I know that during my first months that I
worked, I did that, because in our preservice
education they give so much attention to the
correct pronunciation. Then you apply that
and you try during the first months to talk the
way it should. And then I have heard so often
from the children: ‘Are you from the Nether-
lands? Why do you talk so funny?’ Then you
go more towards the in-between-language and
you don’t get any comments anymore about
that. It’s easier then to form a connection. (SLT
8)
What I still did in the beginning, because you
really saw in preservice education that you
had to do it like this and this. But I also feel
that you start to play around with that, as you
gain more experience. (SLT 13)
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1691
DISCUSSION
Style-shifting in SLTs is shaped by an interplay between
client characteristics and needs, trust, and the SLT’s pro-
fessional and personal identity. Similar to parents, SLTs
were more inclined to use SBD with young children to scaf-
fold language (Van De Mieroop et al., 2016). Three SLTs’
views aligned with the mother’s stance in Van De Mieroop
et al.’s study (2016) that SBD is the most correct form and
that it should be commonly used. The other SLTs aligned
more with the father’s stance that SBD can scaffold lan-
guage but that sociolinguistic variation and style-shifting
is also desirable. However, different from parents’ posi-
tion is the SLT’s role as trained expert speaker. Considering
that SLTs coach expert SBD speakers, such as journalists
or presenters, as well as rehabilitate clients who mostly
use CBD, the question on how SLTs’ style relates to their
competency is one that needs addressing. To what extent is
an SLT’s sociolinguistic style conflated with clinical com-
petency (Ferguson & Armstrong, 2004)? As Bright et al.
(2021) argued, reflecting on how SLTs build therapeutic
relationships and how they are influenced by their ‘audi-
ence’ serves to improve clinical practice. The present study
suggests that style-switching fosters authenticity which
is instrumental in establishing solid SLT–client relation-
ships. Indeed, similar to teachers, SLTs often balanced
SBD and CBD, reconciling professional credibility with
authenticity (Delarue & Lybaert, 2016).
SLTs integrated CBD features in their speech to bol-
ster trust, capitalising on the prevailing associations of
CBD with equality and empathy (Impe & Speelman, 2007).
Given that equality and empathy are central to therapeutic
alliance (Bishop et al., 2021; Croft & Watson, 2019; Fourie
et al., 2011; Lawton et al., 2018; Plexico et al., 2010), style-
switching seems a strategy to build therapeutic alliance.
In addition, for many SLTs, CBD was part of their per-
sonal identity, so that incorporating CBD when conversing
with a client felt comfortable and authentic. Letting per-
sonal values shine through makes SLTs more vulnerable,
placing them on an equal level as their clients, which is
similar to the strategy of some therapists to share some
personal information as a way to bond (Plexico et al.,
2010). Furthermore, CBD does not only have its place
within a relational context but also in a transactional con-
text because for many clients it is the language they hear
and use in everyday communication (e.g., Geeraerts &
Van de Velde, 2013; Ghyselen et al., 2020; Plevoets, 2009).
In line with Wolfram’s argument (1992) that SLTs cannot
ignore sociolinguistic variation, the present SLTs used CBD
when functional communication was on the foreground.
While most SLTs felt that they should uphold their role
as SBD gatekeeper and maintain professional credibility,

1692
the extent of this role varied with the client’s therapeutic
needs.
The fact that some CBD features were considered as
minor and others as major offenses to SBD indicates that
standard language is in flux. For example, the ‘ge/gij’
instead of ‘je/jij’ personal pronoun—which is not region
specific—was considered a minor deviation and even
thought to gradually become standard use. Ghyselen and
De Vogelaer (2018) observed that, based on empirical data
from one Flemish province, younger adults regarded SBD
as the most correct form that should be used in many
situations but at the same time their formal language
contained some colloquial features, such as the final
t-deletion which was also mentioned by the SLTs. Accord-
ing to the authors, some CBD elements may have become
acceptable within SBD for this younger population.
Similarly, some colloquial features were regarded here as
acceptable for SLTs to use. SLTs were clearly much stricter
about regional speech influences; they were tolerated by
some SLTs but only when they were reportedly mild and
aligned with the region where the SLT was working. It
seemed that clearly discernable regional speech influences
were at odds with their role as expert speaker. Notably,
this tension pertained to SLTs’ own style; SLTs explicitly
reported that they would never explicitly correct a client’s
non-standard language use or regional speech. Normative
language attitudes may lead to biased language diagnos-
tics, resulting in treating non-standard language features
as if they were language ‘errors’ indicative of a language
disorder (Easton & Verdon, 2021). Such a bias was not
explicitly present in the interviews, presumably due to
the widespread use and acceptance of Tussentaal, also by
our SLTs. Nevertheless, because SLTs typically mentioned
language varieties from larger regions (e.g., Limburg or
West-Flanders), it remains possible that there is a linguis-
tic bias among SLTs towards less frequent region-specific
non-standard varieties.
The CBD-SBD spectrum allowed SLTs to partially
converge with their clients’ style and finetune the balance
between CBD and SBD. This way, they could be authentic
and build trust while upholding a standard that is part
of their professional identity. Considerations concerning
trust and therapy goals legitimised increased CBD use, but
mainly for those SLTs who reported to use CBD in their
leisure time. SLTs who felt that they typically spoke SBD
in their leisure time did not talk about style-switching,
but it was not clear whether they held stronger standard
ideological views and/or whether it was easier for them to
be authentic in SBD. The fact that one SLT described how
CBD would occasionally slip through suggests that SBD
still required effort and that therefore, she may have held
stronger normative views on SLTs’ language.
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‘TALKING VERY PROPERLY CREATES SUCH A DISTANCE’
Even though CBD was associated with trust, the inter-
views do not unequivocally indicate that SLTs cannot
build trust through SBD. Delarue and Lybaert (2016)
pointed out that authenticity is key in the teacher-student
relationship, which aligns with earlier studies on the
SLT–patient relationship (Lawton et al., 2018; Plexico et
al., 2010; Walsh & Duchan, 2010). The effort that it takes
some SLTs to use SBD could be noticed by clients. The
child’s comment ‘why do you talk so funny’ could either
indicate the client’s unfamiliarity with SBD in general
or perhaps the child noted the effort made by the SLT to
speak SBD. Potentially, perceptions of authenticity are not
only brought about by a particular style but also from the
connection between the SLT’s style and personal identity,
that is, the level of spontaneity in using SBD. Most SLTs
reportedly spoke CBD in their leisure time so that CBD is
likely to come more naturally to them, which also means
that adaptation required less effort than continuously
speaking SBD. This indicates a complex dynamic between
SLT and client characteristics in therapeutic alliance and
style-switching (Bright et al., 2021).
Even though SLTs felt that they balanced and switched
between SBD and CBD, they did not experience an inter-
nal struggle as reported by the teachers in the study of
Delarue and Lybaert (2016). The use of CBD elements
had clear relevance to the SLTs, viz. building therapeutic
alliance, and was therefore not in strong conflict with
their professional identity and competency. The most
conflict they experienced was at the beginning of their
career, after their preservice education had placed empha-
sis on SBD. The SLTs did not describe this period as a
conflict but rather as a learning experience, which may be
explained by the fact that learning-by-doing and flexibility
is an inherent part of the SLT profession (McCurtin &
Carter, 2015). This freedom to be flexible considerably
differs from the teachers who had to adhere to a policy
stating they should use SBD in the classroom, thereby
leaving less room for style-switching (Delarue, 2016).
Nevertheless, the pressure to consistently use SBD that
SLTs experienced at the beginning of their career suggests
that sociolinguistic variation received little attention in
their socio-communicative skills training.
In the authors’ institution, preservice SLTs practice their
language use and socio-communicative skills through role-
playing, which includes adapting the use of jargon, going
on first or last name basis, and adapting communication
level to clients who are less proficient in Dutch. During
these role-plays, students receive feedback concerning
correct SBD with the instructor only anecdotally men-
tioning that SLTs can use SBD, CBD, or dialect depending
on the specific context and client. While such SBD focus
and feedback are justified given that SLTs should be able

ROMBOUTS et al.
to support all clients including professional speakers,
the fact that other language varieties are only mentioned
anecdotally means that students have no opportunity to
actively discuss and use Tussentaal or dialect in these
role-playing exercises, which may instill the perception
that sociolinguistic variation is less professional. Fur-
thermore, enhanced exposure to various non-standard
varieties may result in more accurate categorisation of
language features as errors or as sociolinguistic differences
(Easton & Verdon, 2021).
In contrast to the almost exclusive focus on SBD in pre-
service education, most SLTs considered style-switching
as an important clinical tool. Concrete examples of
style-switching within a particular client only pertained
to increasing CBD use over the course of a relationship.
SLTs gave no descriptions of style-switching within the
course of one interaction, even though switching between
a social and transactional context is a complex process
of swiftly alternating contexts (Ferguson & Elliot, 2001;
Walsh & Duchan, 2010). Given the association of CBD
with trust and of SBD with instruction, one may expect
that swift style-switching accompanies the alternation
of social and transactional exchanges. Either this swift
style-switching does not take place or SLTs are unaware of
this. Indeed, most SLTs talked about organically adapting
style, except when describing specific situations such as
the first intake or interacting with a very shy client. As
Delarue and Van Lancker (2016) noted in their analyses
of teacher interviews, one may wonder to what extent the
‘strategy’ of style-switching is conscious, which brings us
to some highly relevant research prospects.
Limitations and future directions
While interviews may shed light on SLTs’ motivations
(not) to switch styles, they give an indirect view on SLTs’
language use. This leaves the question to what extent
the reflections on their speech align with their actual
speech, particularly considering that SLTs commented
on the difficulty of reflecting on the organic process of
style-switching. Similar to conversation analyses zoom-
ing in on the SLT-client relationship (Ferguson & Elliot,
2001; Walsh & Duchan, 2010), observational studies can
provide more insight into the style-switching of SLTs.
For example, most SLTs discussed style-switching over
the course of an SLT-client relationship but not dur-
ing the course of one session. However, in experienced
SLTs, relational and transactional interactions alternate
quite rapidly (Ferguson & Elliot, 2001; Walsh & Duchan,
2010). By observing SLTs’ speech during a therapy ses-
sion, we may analyse whether SLTs signal the trans-
actional/relational context through style-switching. Such
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1693
signals potentially introduce context-appropriate expecta-
tions in the client, preventing offenses to the therapeutic
alliance such as the debunking in mock conversations
(Simmons-Mackie & Damico, 2011; Walsh & Duchan,
2010). In addition, such linguistic analyses allow to exam-
ine reciprocal influences (Auer, 2005). To gauge SLTs’
evaluation of their partially unconscious style-switching,
mixed approaches whereby conversation analyses are
combined with reflective interviews are particularly valu-
able (e.g., Bright et al., 2021; Van De Mieroop et al., 2016)
because they allow for in-the-moment reflection about
practices.
A limitation to the present interviews was the absence
of style anchors. Because CBD and SBD are on a spectrum,
it was not always clear what constituted SBD and CBD for
each SLT and which degree of CBD was considered accept-
able. Consequently, participants may have had different
reference frames when discussing SBD and CBD. To exam-
ine saliency of specific (para)linguistic features, Lybaert
et al. (2014) presented naturalistic audio excerpts to par-
ticipants and asked them whether dialect, CBD, or SBD
was used in the excerpt and on which features they based
their assessment. Integrating such assessment may help to
align the reference frame of the researcher and the partic-
ipant and may guide the discussion about the SBD-CBD
distinction and the acceptability and saliency of specific
CBD features.
Given the dynamic and reciprocal process of relational
and transactional interactions, to truly understand the
role of sociolinguistic adaptation in therapeutic practice,
insight into clients’ competency evaluations of SLTs’ styles
is needed to complement the SLT perspective. In earlier
studies, the role of the SLT’s standard/colloquial language
did not explicitly come forward in client interviews (Bishop
et al., 2021; Croft & Watson, 2019; Fourie, 2009; Fourie
et al., 2011), and the present SLTs made inferences about
the impact of their style on their clients’ perceptions. By
conducting interviews with clients and combining this
with matched guise testing, we may gain insight into
how clients evaluate the style used by the SLT in specific
contexts.
CONCLUSION
Given the paucity of research on sociolinguistic varia-
tion in SLTs, this study took a first step by exploring
SLTs’ perceived style use as well as the factors that shape
their style and potential style-switching. SLTs are con-
fronted with a dual role: while CBD is the language
of functional communication, SLTs are also supposed to
uphold the correct standard. The important role of CBD in
SLTs’ communication style became apparent, as the dia-

1694
glossic language context clearly allowed SLTs to partially
converge with their clients’ style and thereby effectively
reconcile their professional identity as expert speaker with
authenticity and equality. Yet, the complexity of style-
switching as a phenomenon simultaneously influenced
by SLT characteristics, therapeutic context, and client
characteristics/needs also became clear. Therefore, as gate-
keepers of a language in flux, SLTs need to keep reflecting
on how their style shapes their practice and how they may
utilize sociolinguistic variation to serve their clients best.
Here, integrating the client perspective is crucial. Insight
into client evaluations of an SLT’s style may guide pre-
service educational programs in making students aware
of style-switching strategies and their impact on clients’
perceptions, which will aid SLTs in building therapeutic
relationships.
AC K N OW L E D G M E N T S
The first author conducted this study in her capacity
as assistant professor at KU Leuven, without additional
funding.
C O N F L I C T O F I N T E R E S T S TAT E M E N T
There was no conflict of interest and there were no
restrictions on the publication of results.
D A T A AVA I L A B I L I T Y S T A T E M E N T
Participants did not consent to public sharing of the
raw data (audio). The original transcripts and transcript
coding are available upon reasonable request from the
corresponding author, ER.
PA R T I C I PA N T C O N S E N T S T A T E M E N T
All participants gave written informed consent, and all
data were processed in line with the ethical and pri-
vacy guidelines, including the Declaration of Helsinki and
International Conference on Harmonisation Good Clinical
Practice principles.
ORCID
Ellen Rombouts https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2700-8910
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S U P P O RT I N G I N F O R M AT I O N
Additional supporting information can be found online
in the Supporting Information section at the end of this
article.
How to cite this article: Rombouts, E.,
Fieremans, M. & Zenner, E. (2023) ‘Talking Very
Properly Creates Such a Distance’: Exploring
Style-Shifting in Speech-Language Therapists.
International Journal of Language &
Communication Disorders, 58, 1680–1696.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12896