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Formal and Informal English

The document discusses the differences between formal and informal English. Formal English is more common in writing and uses techniques like passive voice and abstract nouns. Informal English incorporates phrases, idioms, contractions and slang. Examples are provided of when each type of English would be used, such as formal language for legal documents and informal for conversations. The workshop aims to help participants distinguish between formal and informal English and practice classifying words.

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Mitzi Portia Villanueva
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872 views11 pages

Formal and Informal English

The document discusses the differences between formal and informal English. Formal English is more common in writing and uses techniques like passive voice and abstract nouns. Informal English incorporates phrases, idioms, contractions and slang. Examples are provided of when each type of English would be used, such as formal language for legal documents and informal for conversations. The workshop aims to help participants distinguish between formal and informal English and practice classifying words.

Uploaded by

Mitzi Portia Villanueva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPS, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Formal and informal English

A workshop brought to you by


CQU
Communications Learning Centre
To tune in
 Imagine writing a business letter in your first
language. What are some of the words you
would use? Formal or informal?
 Imagine talking to a friend over the phone in
your first language. Would you use formal or
very informal language?
 What would happen if you swapped the
types of language used?
Objectives of the session
1.Consider the similarities and differences
between formal and informal English
2.Consider specific scenarios related to the
two types of English
3.Practise classifying words into the two
categories
1.Similarities between formal and
informal English
 Convey a message
 Have a reader ( listener) in mind
 Important to know which part of speech the
word belongs to ( e.g. noun or verb)
 Not letting your grammar slip
 Both categories can be found in an
advanced learners’ dictionary
Differences
a) Formal English
 is more common in writing than speaking
 uses more passive voice (e.g. the matter will
be discussed )
 often uses abstract nouns formed from
verbs (e.g. consider - consideration)
 does not use the same word twice in a
sentence
b) Informal English
Certain types of language are often
informal:
 phrasal verbs ( e.g. brought up)
 idioms (e.g. to beat about the bush)
 verb get (e.g. He got a letter last week)
 contractions ( e.g. it doesn’t; it didn’t)
 slang ( e.g. bloke= man)
2. Scenarios
Formal Informal
 Public notices  Spoken English
 Police statements  Most e-mails
 Job applications  Song lyrics
 Legal documents  Jokes
 Academic environment  Academic environment
(e.g. reports, essays, ( face-to-face and
debates) online conversations
with course instructors)
3. Practise classifying the words
Which ones are informal?
Try to replace them
 purchase  buy
 bring  acknowledge
 commence  wrong
 get  because of
 bad  I know that
 ask  indicate
 request  often
Use a dictionary to find out if these
words are formal or informal
 Drivers are not permitted to drink.
 What do you reckon?
 The meeting will resume at 3 p.m.
 Approximately 60% of the population
watch TV in Australia.
 You can e-mail the question to me. I don’t
know the answer off-hand.
Find a synonym for each of these
words
 commence
 creation
 excessive What do they mean?
 manner Try to make sentences
 previous
 consistent
 scepticism
Try to paraphrase these sentences:

 Scientists today tell us that the universe is


dynamic and interconnected.

 Competing theories need to be contrasted to


assess unique contributions and
shortcomings.

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