Formal and Informal Language/ Expression; Day: 62
What is the difference between formal and informal language?
Formal and informal language serve different purposes in written communications depending on the reader (Audience) and reason for writing (Purpose). The tone, the choice of words and the way the words are put together vary between the two different styles.
āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻ¤ āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻ āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻž āĻĒāĻžāĻ āĻ (āĻļā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻž) āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖ (āĻāĻĻā§āĻĻā§āĻļā§āĻ¯) āĻāĻ° āĻāĻĒāĻ° āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻāĻ° āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻ˛āĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ āĻ¯ā§āĻāĻžāĻ¯ā§āĻā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ āĻāĻĻā§āĻĻā§āĻļā§āĻ¯ā§ āĻāĻžāĻ āĻāĻ°ā§āĨ¤ āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°, āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻĒāĻāĻ¨ā§āĻĻ āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻā§āĻ˛āĻŋāĻā§ āĻāĻāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻāĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻĒāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻĻā§āĻāĻŋ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ āĻļā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ° āĻŽāĻ§ā§āĻ¯ā§ āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤
Formal language is less personal than informal language. It is used when writing for professional or academic purposes like graduate school assignments. Formal language does not use colloquialisms, contractions or first-person pronouns such as âIâ or âWe.â
āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻž āĻ āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻžāĻ° āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻāĻŽ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻāĻ¤āĨ¤ āĻ¸ā§āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¤āĻ āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻ˛ āĻ ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¸āĻžāĻāĻ¨āĻŽā§āĻ¨ā§āĻā§āĻ° āĻŽāĻ¤ā§ āĻĒā§āĻļāĻžāĻĻāĻžāĻ° āĻŦāĻž āĻāĻāĻžāĻĄā§āĻŽāĻŋāĻ āĻāĻĻā§āĻĻā§āĻļā§āĻ¯ā§ āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻāĻŋ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻž āĻāĻĨā§āĻĒāĻāĻĨāĻ¨, āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻāĻ¨ āĻŦāĻž āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĨāĻŽ-āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻ¸āĻ°ā§āĻŦāĻ¨āĻžāĻŽ āĻ¯ā§āĻŽāĻ¨ “āĻāĻŽāĻŋ” āĻŦāĻž “āĻāĻŽāĻ°āĻž” āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻ¨āĻžāĨ¤
Informal language is more casual and spontaneous. It is used when communicating with friends or family either in writing or in conversation. It is used when writing personal emails, text messages and in some business correspondence. The tone of informal language is more personal than formal language.
āĻ āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻž āĻāĻ°āĻ āĻ¨ā§āĻŽāĻŋāĻ¤ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ¤āĻāĻ¸ā§āĻĢā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĨ¤ āĻ˛āĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ¤āĻāĻžāĻŦā§ āĻŦāĻž āĻāĻĨā§āĻĒāĻāĻĨāĻ¨ā§ āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§ āĻŦāĻž āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻŦāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻžāĻĨā§ āĻ¯ā§āĻāĻžāĻ¯ā§āĻ āĻāĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻāĻŋ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ āĻāĻāĻŋ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻāĻ¤ āĻāĻŽā§āĻ˛, āĻĒāĻžāĻ ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻž āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻ¸āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻŋāĻ āĻāĻŋāĻ āĻŋāĻĒāĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšā§āĻ¤ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧāĨ¤ āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻžāĻ° āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻ āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻžāĻˇāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸ā§āĻ° āĻŦā§āĻļāĻŋ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻāĻ¤āĨ¤
Examples of formal and informal language are shown below:
Contractions
āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻāĻ¨
- Informal: The improvements canât be made due to budget cuts.
- āĻ āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ: āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖā§ āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻ¯āĻžāĻŦā§ āĻ¨āĻžāĨ¤
- Formal: Improvements cannot be made due to budget restrictions.
- āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻˇā§āĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ: āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻā§āĻ° āĻ¸ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻŦāĻĻā§āĻ§āĻ¤āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖā§ āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻ¯āĻžāĻŦā§ āĻ¨āĻžāĨ¤
Phrasal Verbs
āĻĢā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¸āĻžāĻ˛ āĻā§āĻ°āĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
- The ballon was blown up for the experiment.
- āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ˛āĻ¨ āĻāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĨ¤
- The ballon was inflated for the experiment
- āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ˛āĻ¨ āĻ¸ā§āĻĢā§āĻ¤ āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛
Slang/Colloquialism
āĻ¸ā§āĻ˛ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ/āĻāĻĨā§āĻĒāĻāĻĨāĻ¨
- Professors still count on students to use correct grammar and punctuation in essays.
- āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§ āĻ¸āĻ āĻŋāĻ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻŦāĻŋāĻ°āĻžāĻŽ āĻāĻŋāĻšā§āĻ¨ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĢā§āĻ¸āĻ°āĻ°āĻž āĻāĻāĻ¨āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻĒāĻ° āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻāĻ° āĻāĻ°ā§āĨ¤
- Professors expect students to use correct grammar and punctuation in essays.
- āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĢā§āĻ¸āĻ°āĻ°āĻž āĻāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻžāĻā§ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§ āĻ¸āĻ āĻŋāĻ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻŦāĻ āĻŦāĻŋāĻ°āĻžāĻŽ āĻāĻŋāĻšā§āĻ¨ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻŦāĻšāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ°āĻžāĻ° āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¤ā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻļāĻž āĻāĻ°ā§āĻ¨āĨ¤
First Person Pronouns
āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĨāĻŽ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻ¸āĻ°ā§āĻŦāĻ¨āĻžāĻŽ
- IÂ considered various research methods for the study.
- āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻ āĻ§ā§āĻ¯āĻ¯āĻŧāĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦāĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ āĻāĻŦā§āĻˇāĻŖāĻž āĻĒāĻĻā§āĻ§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻŦāĻŋāĻŦā§āĻāĻ¨āĻž āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻŋāĨ¤
- Various research methods were considered for the study.
- āĻāĻŦā§āĻˇāĻŖāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻŦāĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨ āĻāĻŦā§āĻˇāĻŖāĻž āĻĒāĻĻā§āĻ§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻŦāĻŋāĻŦā§āĻāĻ¨āĻž āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĨ¤
- During the interview we asked the applicants for a personal reference.
- āĻ¸āĻžāĻā§āĻˇāĻžā§āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻŽāĻ°āĻž āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻ¨āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻāĻ¤ āĻ°ā§āĻĢāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ¨ā§āĻ¸ āĻā§āĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĻžāĻŽāĨ¤
- During the interview applicants were asked to provide a personal reference.
- āĻ¸āĻžāĻā§āĻˇāĻžā§āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻ¨āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻāĻ¤ āĻ°ā§āĻĢāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ¨ā§āĻ¸ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻĻāĻžāĻ¨ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ā§ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§āĻāĻŋāĻ˛āĨ¤
VERBS â INFORMAL & FORMAL
Informal | Formal |
---|---|
say sorry | apologize, apologise |
go up | increase |
go down | decrease |
set up | establish |
look at | examine |
blow up | explode |
find out | discover |
bring about | cause |
put off | postpone, delay |
rack up | accumulate |
make up | fabricate |
stand for | represent |
find out | discover, ascertain |
leave out | omit |
point out | indicate |
go against | oppose |
get in touch with | contact |
Itâs about | It concerns, Itâs in regards to |
need to | required |
think about | consider |
get | obtain |
put up | tolerate |
deal with | handle |
seem | appear |
show | demonstrate, illustrate, portray |
start | commence |
keep | retain |
free | release |
get on someoneâs nerves | bother |
ring up | call |
show up | arrive |
let | permit |
fill in | substitute, inform |
block | undermine |
give the go ahead, greenlight | authorize, authorise |
TRANSITIONS â INFORMAL & FORMAL
Informal | Formal |
---|---|
Anyways | Nevertheless |
Plus/Also | Moreover/ Furthermore |
But | However |
So | Therefore/Thus |
Also | In addition, Additionally |
ASAP | as soon as possible/at your earliest convenience |
Okay, OK | acceptable |
In the meantime | In the interim |
I think | In my opinion, |
In the end, | Finally |
To sum up | In conclusion, |
In a nutshell/Basically | To summarize, |
Anyway, | Notwithstanding |
All right | Acceptable |
Well, | |
To top it all off, | |
On top of it all, | |
In order to |
EMPHASIS WORDS â INFORMAL & FORMAL
Informal | Formal |
---|---|
lots of/ a lot of | much, many |
tons of, heaps of | large quantities of, a number of |
totally | completely, strongly |
really, very | definitely |
LETTER EXPRESSIONS â INFORMAL & FORMAL
Informal | Formal |
---|---|
Hi Robert, | Dear Sir or Madam |
Just wanted to let you knowâĻ | I am writing to inform youâĻ |
Love, | Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, |
Cheers, | |
Yours Truly, Best regards, kind regards | |
Hope to hear from you soon | I look forward to hearing from you |
You can call me if you need anything | Please do not hesitate to contact me |
ABBREVIATIONS â INFORMAL & FORMAL
Informal | Formal |
---|---|
ASAP | as soon as possible |
T.V. | television |
photo | photograph |
cell | cell phone |
net | Internet |
SLANG â INFORMAL & FORMAL
Informal | Formal |
---|---|
kids | children |
bad | negative |
good | positive |
really big | considerable |
right | correct |
wrong | incorrect |
smart | intelligent |
cheap | inexpensive |
loaded | rich |
FORMAL vs INFORMAL EXPRESSIONS
Formal and informal expressions for written or verbal communication.
Formal English expressions are used in letters or in situations involving people you do not know very well.
The tone is respectful and polite.
Informal English expressions are used in everyday conversations, letters and emails exchanged with friends, family, colleagues or people you know well.
The tone is casual and friendly.
FORMAL | INFORMAL |
âĒI regret to inform you that … | âĒI hate to have to tell you this but … |
âĒI am writing to inform you that … | âĒJust a quick line to say … |
âĒIt is a pleasure to meet you. | âĒNice to meet you. |
âĒUpon your arrival … | âĒAs soon as you get here âĻ |
âĒAt your earliest convenience | âĒAs soon as you can |
âĒI regret that I will be unable to attend … | âĒSorry I canât make it. |
âĒI would appreciate being kept informed âĻ | âĒPlease keep me posted/updated. âĒKeep me in the loop! |
âĒI would like to remind you that … | âĒDon’t forget … |
âĒWould you be available on ….. ? | âĒI suggest we get together on ….. |
âĒI really appreciate your assistance | âĒThanks a lot! |
âĒPlease accept my apologies for … | âĒSorry for … |
âĒIt will not be necessary for you to … | âĒYou wonât have to … |
âĒIt would be of great benefit to you to … | âĒIt would do you good to … |
âĒWe have a vast amount of information at your disposal. | âĒI have lots of information for you. |
âĒWe were hoping you could … | âĒCould you …? |
âĒIt is my opinion that … | âĒI think … |
âĒPlease remember me to Alex. | âĒSay hello to Alex for me. |
âĒI’d like to express my gratitude for… | âĒThanks a million. I owe you one! |