Formal and Informal English

Appropriate Expression:

Formal and Informal English

By

Wu Jian

Class2Grade4

Student NO.

：

31

Abstract

This paper will

firstly

introduce the formal and

informal

language about

its importance

and significance. With the necessity to research on the formal and informal language,we will

talk

about

what

formality

and

informality

or

language

are

by

discussing

the

definitions,degrees

and

differences

between

them

in

chapter

2.

Since

the

purpose

of

the

research is to make more appropriate expression,we give more emphasis on the pratical usage

of ent situations need different degrees of formality. Generally speaking it is easier to

use the informal

language than formal

language. Therefore ,in the last part of chapter 2,we

will focus on how to avoid informal expressions in language communications.

Key Words: formal; informal; appropriate expressions

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1The

Significance

of

Researching

on

the

Differences

of

Formal vs Informal Ianguage.

It is very important to use language properly according to different occasions. This is also

true

in

English.

People

tend

to speak

of

language

as

being

correct

or

incorrect,

but

it would

be

more accurate to refer to particular language structures as being appropriate or inappropriate for a

specific context. Generally speaking, as a tool of communication English is divided to and used in

two different context of situations: common or casual situation and official or formal situation. So

it forms different varieties of English.

Language variety can be defined as this(Xue HR, 2003): a language variety is a sub- set of

formal

and/or substantial

features which correlate

regularly

with

a

particular

type

of situational

context. First, formal features mean that a language event has internal meaning patterns in sound,

vocabulary

and

grammar.

Second,

substantial

features

mean

that

a

language

is

transmitted

by

means

of

either

audible

sound

waves

(spoken)

or

visible

marks

on

a surface (written).

Finally,

There

is

a

strong

relationship

between

the

language

we

use

in

particular

situation

and

certain

features of that situation.

The main English varieties are formal and informal English.

Chapter 2 The Introduction and Situational

Usage of Formal vs Informal Language

2.1The Introduction of Formal vs Informal Language

2.11 the definition of

Formal language vs informal language

language

A

formal language is a set of words, i.e. finite strings of letters, symbols, or tokens. The set from

which these letters are taken is called the alphabet over which the language is defined. A

formal

language

is

often

defined

by

means

of

a

formal

grammar

(also

called

its

formation

rules);

accordingly, words

that belong to a formal language are sometimes called well-formed words (or

well-formed formulas). Formal languages are studied in computer science and linguistics; the field

of formal language theory studies the purely syntactical aspects of such languages (that is, their

internal structural patterns).

Formal

languages

are

often

used

as

the

basis

for

richer constructs

endowed with

semantics.

In

computer science they are used, among other things, for the precise definition of data formats and

the syntax of programming languages. Formal languages play a crucial role in the development of

compilers, typically produced by means of a compiler compiler, which may be a single program or

may

be separated

in

tools

like

lexical

analyzer

generators

(e.g.

lex),

and

parser

generators

(e.g.

yacc). Since formal languages alone do not have semantics, other formal constructs are needed for

the

formal

specification

of

program

semantics.

Formal

languages

are

also

used

in

logic

and

in

foundations

of

mathematics

to

represent

the syntax

of

formal

theories.

Logical

systems can

be

seen

as

a

formal

language

with

additional

constructs,

like

proof

calculi,

which

define

a

consequence relation.[1]

is an example of fully interpreted formal language; all its sentences have meanings that make them

either true or false.

al language

Informal language arises out of all those channels that fall outside the formal channels and

it

is

also

known

as

grapevine.

It

is

established

around

the

societal

affiliation

of

members

of

the

organization. Informal language does not follow authority lines as in the case of formal language.

Informal language takes place due to the individual needs of the members of an organization and

subsists

in

every

organization.

Normally,

such

language

is

oral

and

may

be

expressed

even

by

simple glance, sign or silence. Informal

language, is implicit, spontaneous multidimensional and

diverse. It oftenly works in group of people, i.e. when one person has some information of interest;

he passes it on to his informal group and so on.

2.12The degrees of formality or informality

Generally

in

official

or

serious

situations,

the

formal

English

should

be

used,

while

in

casual or relaxed situations one can use informal English.

The degrees of formality or informality are determined by the role relationship, the number

of listeners and the context of situation which means whether it is a public speech, a classroom

lecture,

a

church

service,

a

dinner

party

or

a casual

chat. Formal

English

is

primarily

used

in

official

documents,

legal

papers, regulations,

technical

literature,

thesis

papers,

business

letters,

ceremonial public speeches, etc. Informal English is found typically in private conversations or in

personal letters. Nowadays it is also used in advertisements, popular newspapers and magazines

because of its simplicity(Xue HR, 2003).

In fact, one should keep in mind that the formality-informality scale is a continuum from

the most formal to the most informal, with an infinite number of steps in between. Martin Joos in

“A

Practical Guide to the Teaching of English” (Rivers, et al., 1978) proposes the following scale

divisions, which is called FIVE STYLES or FIVE CLOCKS.

Intimate: used between family members and very close friends who shared the majority of

their life experience, so there is no need to supply any background information.

Casual:

used

between

friends,

acquaintances

and

insiders,

marked

by

ellipsis

and

colloquialism.

Consultative:

a

norm

for

coming

to

terms

with

strangers,

marked

by

its

syntactic

completeness and features of politeness.

Formal: used on formal occasions, marked by its formal wording and syntactic complexity.

Frozen: only fit for print, for declamation and for people who are to remain social strangers,

marked

by

its

use

of

extremely

big

words

and

solemn

expressions,

by

its

extremely

complex

syntax and by its total avoidance of personal flavor. The typical of it is the language of law.

Respective examples are given as follows(Xue HR, 2003):

Intimate:

Out!

Casual:

Run along, now.

Consultative:

Would you mind leaving the room a moment, please?

Formal:

The audience is requested to kindly leave the room for a few moments.

Frozen:

The

management

respectfully

requests

the

conferees

to

vacate

the

auditorium

between sessions in order to facilitate the operation of the custodial staff.

Nevertheless, it is easier to divide these scales than to categorize accurately those that go

between the two extremes, meanwhile the latter is not always necessary. What have to be minded

are the two basic language varieties: formal and informal English.

2.13differences between formal and informal English

What differences on earth are there between formal and informal English? They differ from

aspects as follows(Qin XB, 2002).

First, formal

and

informal

English

are

distinguished

by

using

different words. In casual

occasions, people tend to use casual words, even slang vocabulary. In formal situations, people are

supposed to use big words, usually those of Latin origin or French origin. For example, to express

same meaning, informal English can be like that “

the police are looking in to the case of murder

”,

while in formal English the word “

investigate

” will be used instead of the oral phrase “

look in to

”

for expressing the same idea. Just as similar as this example, several pairs of words can be found

easily, such as

end

–

conclude, leave

–

depart, blow up

–

explode, quit

–

resign, job

–

position,

tired

–

fatigued

,

and

so

on.

Besides,

informal

English

is

usually

characterized

by

a

lot

of

contractions, which are hardly seen in formal English. The most common contractions are like

ad

for advertisement,

paper

for newspaper,

dorm

for dormitory,

lab

for laboratory,

bike

for bicycle,

TV

for television,

phone

for telephone,

can’t

for cannot,

it’s

for it is, and so on.

Second, formal and informal English differ from grammar or sentence structure. Generally

speaking, formal English follows grammar rules very strictly and sentences tend to be longer and

more complex, but informal English may be casual, especially in some intimate situations. Below

are several typical cases.

(1) In comparison sentences using subjective pronoun is more formal than objective one.

For instance, usually one says, “

he speaks English more fluently than me.

” It is okay, but in formal

situations the pronoun “

me

” had better be placed to “

I

”. The similar condition takes place when a

pronoun is as predicate noun that comes after a linking verb and refers back to the subject of the

sentence. Formal

English will be like that “

it is I, that is he

” rather than “

it’s me, that’s him

” in

informal English.

(2)

The

adverbial

modifier

in

a

sentence

can

differ

between

the

two

English

styles.

To