This study explores comments of Australian students in their first and final high school years about what their friends say about the way they talk. Seniors are more inclined to mention that they select their friends according to their manner of speech and to declare that they recollect their friends discussing their speech. They are also more disposed to offer detailed comment on social and regional variation. It is argued that written survey data have elucidative power, allowing helpful insights into Australian adolescents' metalinguistic awareness, ideologies and observed identity.