We’ve all been there. A teacher circles a “ain’t” in red ink. A parent corrects “me and my friends” to “my friends and I.” From a young age, we are drilled on the rules of “proper” English. We’re taught to admire the crisp, formal language of news anchors, academics, and official documents. This is what linguists call overt prestige: the widely recognized value of a standard language variety that signals education, class, and power.

And yet… think about the language you actually admire. The witty slang of your favorite TV show character. The thick, comforting regional accent of a grandparent. The effortless cool of a musician’s lyrics. We are often drawn to language that deliberately breaks the rules. This isn’t a contradiction; it’s a powerful social force known as covert prestige.

Covert prestige is the hidden social value of non-standard language. It’s the “cool” factor, the street cred, the mark of authenticity that proper, standard language can never quite achieve. It’s the reason we find ourselves admiring, and even imitating, language that our English teachers would have loathed.

The Two Faces of Status: Overt vs. Covert

To understand covert prestige, it helps to put it side-by-side with its more obvious counterpart.

• Overt Prestige is the language of the establishment. Think of Received Pronunciation (RP) in Britain or General American English in the US. It’s the dialect you’re expected to use in a job interview, a legal document, or a university lecture. It grants you access to mainstream power structures and is openly acknowledged as “correct” or “proper.”
• Covert Prestige, on the other hand, derives its power from its opposition to the mainstream. It’s the language of a specific community, subculture, or group. Its value isn’t openly advertised; it’s understood implicitly by those in the know. Using it signals that you belong to the in-group, not the establishment.

These two forms of prestige are constantly in tension. Many of us are linguistic code-switchers, moving between different dialects depending on the situation. We might use our most “proper” English at work (chasing overt prestige) and then slip into regional slang and a broader accent with friends at the pub (embracing covert prestige).

Why We’re Drawn to the ‘Incorrect’

What is it about non-standard language that gives it such a powerful, magnetic pull? The allure of covert prestige comes down to a few key human desires: authenticity, belonging, and rebellion.

Authenticity and Trust

Overly formal language can feel stiff, calculated, and impersonal. When a politician sprinkles their speech with carefully researched youth slang, it often falls flat because it feels inauthentic. Conversely, non-standard dialects feel “real.” They signal that the speaker isn’t putting on airs or trying to be someone they’re not. This perceived honesty builds a foundation of trust and solidarity. We’re more likely to believe someone who “talks like us.”

In-Group Identity

Language is one of the most powerful ways we signal who we are and which groups we belong to. Slang, jargon, and shared accents act as a kind of social password. If you understand and can use the language of the group—whether it’s skaters, gamers, surgeons, or Londoners—you’re accepted as one of them. This creates a powerful sense of community and exclusivity.

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a prime example. While historically stigmatized by mainstream institutions (lacking overt prestige), AAVE carries immense covert prestige. It is a rich, rule-governed dialect that signals cultural identity and authenticity, and its innovations are a major source of slang that eventually gets adopted by the wider culture.

Rebellion and ‘Coolness’

Since standard language is the language of authority—of parents, teachers, and bosses—using non-standard language is an act of rebellion. It’s a way of asserting independence and rejecting conformity. From the defiant swagger of rock and roll to the intricate wordplay of hip-hop, subcultures have always used language to set themselves apart from and challenge the mainstream. This defiance is a key ingredient of “cool.”

A Classic Case: ‘Walkin’’ vs. ‘Walking’

This isn’t just a modern phenomenon. One of the most famous linguistic studies on this topic was conducted by Peter Trudgill in Norwich, England, in the 1970s. He studied the use of the non-standard “-in'” ending (as in walkin’) versus the standard “-ing” ending (as in walking).

Trudgill found a fascinating gender divide. When asked about their own speech, women tended to over-report their use of the standard “-ing” form. They aspired to the overt prestige of “proper” speech. Men, however, did the opposite. They claimed to use the non-standard, working-class “-in'” form more than they actually did. Why? Because they associated the “-in'” ending with toughness, masculinity, and local working-class identity—a clear example of covert prestige in action.

They wanted to sound like “one of the lads”, not a “posh” outsider, even if it meant sounding less “correct” by the standards of the establishment.

Language Is More Than Just Words

The existence of covert prestige reveals a fundamental truth about communication: language is never just about transmitting information. It’s about performing identity.

Every time we speak, we make choices that position us socially. The slang we use, the accent we adopt, and the grammar we employ are all signals about who we are, where we come from, and which groups we want to be a part of. “Bad” language isn’t linguistically inferior; it’s simply language that is valued by a different group for different reasons.

So the next time you hear a phrase that makes you smile for its cleverness or its local color, even if it breaks a textbook rule, take a moment to appreciate the power of covert prestige. You’re not just hearing “bad” language; you’re hearing identity, community, and authenticity being spoken into existence.