Characteristics of Informal Language: summary

Written:

An informal style is widespread in blogs and on the

internet. While it sets up a close relationship with readers
and reaches a wide audience, it tends to compromise
authority. It may also be used sparsely in editorials, opinion
articles and letters to the editor to add an element of surprise
or create a contrasting effect.
to socialize (phatic conversation): language used to
establish an atmosphere or to create a social contact
to maintain friendship/share social rapport
to exchange or elicit information
to discuss a common interest
phatic transactional; persuasive; expressive
According to linguists, gender, age and social or regional
differences affect the language we use
We adapt to demands of each speech encounter almost
subconsciously.
Cultural expectations and shared values of a society
dictate the roles speakers must fill if theya re to be accepted
Spoken: conversation between friends,

An informal style: the sub-systems

Phonology: accent, intonation; broad, general,
cultivated. (see prosodics at end.)
phonological spellings; em (elision),
gotta
(assimilation) hafta; spposed; mimics spoken texts
STRUCTURE OF INFORMAL (SPOKEN) DISCOURSE

adjacency pairs opening and closing rituals are done in

such a way that one statement triggers a response; it is a
question and answer style of dialogue; paratactic style of
dialogue conjunctions such as and link simple sentences
together
they follow one another; are produced by different
speakers; have
a logical connection; conform to a
pattern.

Questions, answers, greetings and a command are

all part of
adjacency pairs
Turn-taking also structures spoken discourse; see order of
participation an/ overlaps etc (often rectified quickly)
Openings and closings: social equals often use a neutral
starting point or opening in a conversation by talking about the
weather

Vocatives help to personalize an encounter; social

greetings; hospitality tokens (linguistic references to
customary social acts have a drink, can I get you
something, do sit down; neutral topics or self- or otherrelated remarks. ; choice of cooperative and mutual topic
Syntax and syntactic patterning:
Grammar: simpler; minor sentences and coordinated
clauses; tendency towards coordination rather than
subordination
Colloquial ellipses occur frequently; passive is less
frequent.
phrasal verbs and informal filler verbs; noun phrases
are often simple; (one one adjective, and not a string);
frequent use of adverbial intensifiers: very, and a bit ;
Structure of utterances is often difficult to establish
where one sentence ends and another begins
Introductory links to clauses you know
Tag questions and phatic communication maintain the
pace of spoken discourse
Variety of grammatical modes: reported speech, direct
quotations; first person accounts; changes in modality are
common
use of incorrect grammar such as incomplete sentences
(sentence fragments); Makes no sense to me!; incorrect
punctuation and spelling;
sentence fragments; more likely to string words
together (commentator);
repetition of words
creative word formation
change word order in
sentence for emphasis; fronting/creative word order echo
and mimic spoken texts.
anaphoric reference: refers back to

use of minor sentences; he seldom uses strings of

dependent clauses embedded within a main clause; loosely
coordinated clauses
use of direct speech: yeah - minimal vocalization; or
voiced hesitation.
Lexicology/ morphology
participants often underplay importance of key words
introduce clauses like you know, like, sort of..
conversational lexis yeah, cos, all right, colloquial idioms, in
a minute, the thing is, as far as i can see; clichs, thats life;
hyperbole; on and on and on, really stupid, thousands and
phatic communication and vocalisations.
Often ambiguous: speakers use language inexplicitly
often clarified through extra paralingual features
Deictic expressions are common: this one, over there,
right now typical of face to face interaction where speakers
can refer directly to specific characteristics of the context
use of first person pronouns; (I and we);
use of contractions such as wed, shouldnt and didnt;
and
Uses discourse particles: spoken interaction is more personal
than writing and speakers continually refer to themselves and
to their audience with special expressions; discourse
markers often evident in written language as well okay,
there, alright, tell you what, come on; dead set; (intensifier).
They are idiosyncratic features of our language ; they could be
expressing uncertainty, hesitations, about rumour or
conjecture.
Discourse markers: Short expressions or words which
have an important function in speech, such as indicating a
change of topic or bringing the conversation back to a
previous topic (anyway, yeah, well). In linguistics,
a discourse marker is a word or phrase that is relatively
syntax -independent, does not have a particular grammatical
function, does not change the meaning of the utterance, and
has a somewhat empty meaning. Examples of discourse
markers include the particles oh, well, now, then,
you know, and I mean, and the connectives so,
because, and, but, and or.Common discourse
markers used in the English language include you know,
actually, basically, like, I mean, and okay.

Traditionally, some of the words or phrases that were

considered discourse markers were treated as fillers or
expletive : words or phrases that had no function at all.
Now they are assigned functions in different levels of
analysis: topic changes, reformulations, discourse planning,
stressing, hedging , or backchanneling. Discourse markers
often come from different word classes, such as adverbs
(well) or prepositional phrases (in fact).
Often phonologically vague utterances mumbling and
tailing off..
verbs which imply speech lets say; tell you
what; reductions: coz. phys ed.contractions cars, its,
Ive,
lets, cant; thats
Semantics/ semantic patterning:
use of clichs: were in the same boat;
colloquial language: conversational language that does
not adhere to formal standards. It consists of spoken, slang or
mild swear words; Youre either kidding or youre stuffed!
word connotations: inclusive language and possible use
of exclusive language: I cant helping thinking hes a
moron! ; Common greetings such as gday mate, hit the
turps, happy as Larry are often confusing to foreign visitors.
(refer Australian English and slang)
Slang If you are extremely happy then, according to
the Australian slang expression, you are as happy as Larry
and shell be apples. Such slang, which differs from
standard or written speech in vocabulary and construction
(Macquarie Dictionary), typically recalls our convict past or
settler origins and is colourful, inventive and humorous.
Word play, metaphors; figurative language; ellipsis
(omission)
Are spontaneous: eg. There are false starts and
overlaps; incomplete utterances.
Show Repairs: we make assumptions about what we
think people need or want to know and the find that we have
made a mistake. We might offend or confuse someone so we
make repairs; rephrasing/ false starts;
Show Non-fluency features: speakers make repairs
and repetitions along the way. Conversations are full of
hesitations, pauses and utterances such as err, uhuh and
hmm. A conversation on radio will have fewer non-fluency
features than a casual conversation. Misunderstandings may

occur because people have different rules and expectations

about a conversation. eg during a radio interview the
person being interviewed will be spontaneous and does not
have a planned response, so will need to backtrack; his
speech will not be perfectly ordered; pause fillers such as I
mean to let the other person gather thoughts and continue
with her explanation;
Characteristics of spoken informal texts:
(the more formal the context the less likely there is to be
examples of hesitancy, slips of the tongue, simultaneous
speech.)
Are interactive (the listener responds);
Consist of overlaps overlaps where speakers are
trying to get the floor are common in an average
conversation. Sometimes one speaker thought it was his or
her turn, but the speaker hadnt finished and so they spoke
over the top of each other. Often speakers have to compete
for a turn in a speech encounter in which many participants
are involved (such as a group of friends chatting in a pub); or
a speaker may have misjudged the end of a turn (as when
the speaker adds extra information ..) or one speaker who is
dominant may insist on interrupting one speaker challenges
or disrupts
The more cooperative the speech, the quicker overlaps
are resolve, with one participant ceasing to speak
Consists of ellipsis (leaving out letters or words)
speakers can point to things directly or can just leave them
out of they are already obvious from the situation; sometimes
in rapid speech, sounds are left out of words; sometimes
speakers leave out words to be vague and evasive;
Uses discourse particles: spoken interaction is more
personal than writing and speakers continually refer to
themselves and to their audience with special expressions;
discourse markers often evident in written language as
well okay, there, alright, tell you what, come on; dead
set; (intensifier)
Slang and colloquial language.
Turn taking and topic management
We expect participants in a conversation to obey certain rules
about how a conversation will run.

taking the floor

managing and holding the floor (prosodic clues)
relinquishing the floor
use of adjacency pairs (orderly flow) (interview-style;
question and answer)
overlapping
use of minimal response and backchanneling
questioning techniques interrogative tags
prosodic clues
Turn- taking strategies: for conversations to be successful
people need to take turns. When people are talking socially and
informally they will follow the in-group rules. People usually
give a signal that they intend to give someone else a turn. , eg.
so anyway or finally.

Managing topics is related to turn-taking. All

participants will try to take charge of the topic as the
opportunity arises.
Topic loop involves returning to an earlier topic. This
involves the initiation of the topic, and topic changes. Much
depends upon the gender, age, context of the discussion.
Those in a more powerful situation often initiate the topic,
esp. in a workplace setting.; often help to deal with a
problem; reintroduce an earlier topic ; if a response is
minimal or negative, a speaker might return to an earlier,
safer topic of conversation to repair the damage to the
cooperative interaction.
Topic shifts: those who initiate the topic are in charge
of turn-taking a role occupied by different participants; in
informal conversations the topic often arises naturally or as a
result of the exchange.
In informal contexts, there is often less structure; the
topic moves in a more desultory or haphazard manner:
these phrases are unlikely to take place in formal contexts
such as a lecture or an intervie
End of a topic: linguistic signals: by the way,
incidentally, that reminds me, to change the subject .. (cf
formal contexts, adverbs such as lastly and non-finite
clauses to conclude)
New topics: as I was saying before, speaking of which,
lets talk about something else

Interruptions where was I (after a digression)

awareness of listener response: make repairs before
communication breaks down.. .you know, you see, you
understand encourage listener to acknowledge that
communication is effective. .. draw listeners into the
conversation can you guess what happened, if you ask me,
and you know what I said? Are you with me? Do you get what
I mean? Okay? conversational routines
listening noises ; interrogative tags; cohesion:
references. 59; Coherence 60
Floor holding strategies
prosodic clues: other indications that people are
signaling the
others turn such as modifying pitch, volume
or speed of their speech; by
using continuing intonation to
indicate that she hasnt finished
speaking; for turn taking
may be rising and falling intonation; use of
vocatives to
assign turns and the use of various questioning strategies
follow up questions to allow a turn to continue
Topic management (lexis) / turn-taking/ prosodics/
intonation
Think about the tone: enthusiastic, passionate,
sentimental, dramatic, exasperated, frustrated, worried,
seeking reassurance; or affirmation or expert knowledge
Friendly: candid, sincere, honest, frank, straightforward:
friendly; amicable, amiable, affable, genial
Distance: respectful, courteous, cordial;
Unscripted, casual conversation between two or more familiar
people: spontaneous; possibility of more ambiguity, especially
for external listeners.

Often there is a great deal of shared knowledge

between two people who know each other well and
presumably have shared interests and passions
Some participants have animated facial expressions to
show passion and enthusiasm; many are dramatic and have
exaggerated expressions to stimulate interest in the topic of
the conversation
If a telephone conversation: often fewer pauses; both
want to convey information; there is often a purpose to the
discussion; to impart information or to find out information

The topic management may be equally divided both

speakers introduce and develop the content; the
conversation is cooperative. Or one may be in charge of the
conversation because of expert knowledge of the topic
Turn-taking: cooperative nature: and
familiarity; The participants tend to avoid long utterances
to mark their continued interest. The dialogue is fast-paced
with minimal pauses to create interest and avoid social
difficulties.
There are supportive minimal vocalisations, (yeah, mm
and laughs) ; some mark points where the speakers talk at
once. ; voiced hesitations (mm/ er or repetition of words)
these allow speakers to pause without communication
breaking down.
If cooperative, the speakers may stop to allow the other
to complete the utterance.
Rising and falling intonations: questioning,
misunderstanding; surprise; disbelief; curiosity; shock;
reprimand; correcting someone; uncertainty; sudden
understanding.
Non-fluency features: depending upon the degree of
spontaneity, both speakers will often make false starts () or
repeat words or phrases; use voiced hesitations ( er mm);
leave utterances incomplete; speak over the top of each
other; and make their own repairs.
Radio/TV commentary : informal more fluent;
scripted?
How informal language encourages intimacy, solidarity
and equality
Spoken language may show close, casual social distance and an
informal relationship between friends or people who are familiar
with each other. Non-fluency features are often attributed to
inaccuracies associated with informal speec encounters; but
may also be used consciously to control turn-taking and ensure
that all participants are listening.

There will often be quite a lot of

overlapping: people often give positive reinforcement and
echo
each others words to show acknowledgement and
the shared nature of the
topic being discussed. This often

occurs due to the fast pace of the

dialogue and the
supportive nature of the interaction;
Sometimes however, overlaps may be negative and may be
regarded as takeovers or interruptions or arise because of the
shared nature of the topic being discussed;

Reinforcement and encouragement: when someone

nods her head and says mmm she is usually indicating that
she is paying attention and encouraging the speaker to
continue.
How we address other people is important and
shows the degree of intimacy between people.
Opening and closing rituals are important to a
casual conversation: if we know someone well we will greet
them differently from those who we do not know. The context
and function is important. We need to end conversations in a
socially acceptable manner. If we know someone well, we
might say, Okay good to catch up. See you next time.
There will often be minimal responses; these are
cooperative noises (mmm, heah); this
refers to
one person encouraging the other to keep going with
positive facial
expressions, nods that indicate they are
listening , smiles, laughter, and
encouraging noises such
as hmm, yeah, right and ooh. This is also referred to as back
channeling
because each one is encouraging the other to continue
talking. Minimal responses generally show
support
and encouragement; they provide feedback to the
speaker and show that the topic matter is familiar.
Voiced hesitations or filled pauses mm.. er .. ah
um these help the speaker
maintain the floor while they
think; prevents another speaker from having
a turn;
We tend to avoid confrontation in conversation and
follow the maxims of conversation.
Choice of topics are important: they need to be
appropriate to particular people.

Hedging expression: occur when we are not certain

or want to hide a response.
Cultural variations also need to be taken into account
when considering issues of solidarity and equality.

Alternatively we may use language to exclude others

deliberately. Our friends would be upset if we walked past
them without saying, Hi , hello/ good morning. We can also
exclude others by using code words that only a small group
of people understand.

Maintains positive face needs

Silence can require repair: Pauses are usually kept to a
minimum in speech; a long pause may cause embarrassment
if it is seen as an indicator of failure
Participants to a discussion must show some
sensitivity towards the needs of others. They need to know
when to offer or withhold information, when to stay distanced
or become involved. They need to show tolerance towards
others, giving them space to rephrase and clarify utterances.
Even in casual conversions we need to be
polite to be considerate of others in society; to be
perceptive and diplomatic; to save anothers face (public selfimage); to avoid embarrassment
MCPC 34 middle class politeness criterion
language exchange between casual acquaintances of
different sexes offers the most probably default conditions ..
it arises from conscious or unconscious selfcensoring
Use of euphemisms in casual conversations to
save face.
We tend to avoid taboo subjects and seek to
protect the feelings of others.
Many people find abusive language
unacceptable.
It is important to know the conversational
rules being followed.
Pauses are usually kept to a minimum in speech; a long
pause may cause embarrassment if it is seen as an indicator
of failure.
Informal text:
While reading todays news, I found out an interesting text about the investigation on
the ISAF and U.S guy, General John Allen. The general is now in the FBIs spotlight
after discovering lots of mails between him and Jill Kelley. And if you didnt know,
Jill Kelley was the woman leaked the threatening emails from Paola Broadwell- but

lets not talk about that. It isnt totally clear how Allen and Kelley communicated, but
FBI are investigating 30 000 emails and documents, 30 000! Im not sure If this will
play an important role in the CIA-case, but I do believe this will lead to some more
interesting news. What do you think?
Formal Text:
Pentagon revealed this day that ISAF Commander and U.S. commander in
Afghanistan, General John Allen, is under investigation for inappropriate
communication with the woman who should have received threatening e-mails from
Paula Broadwell, as CIA chief Petraeus had a relationship.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reported the news to the journalists who were in his
flight from Honolulu to Perth in Australia, and said the FBI notified the incident on
Sunday.
The woman Allen in all probability has communicated with, Jill Kelley, is also the
woman who notified the FBI about what she perceived as threatening e-mails from
Broadwell, and thus led to the investigation that revealed the relationship between
Petraeus and Broadwell.
It is not clear what or how this communication between Kelley and Allen have been,
but the American federals are investigating between 20 000 and 30 000 pages of emails and other documents, which likely has been sent between Allen and Kelley
between 2010 and 2012, according to one of Panetta employees.