Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffrey Mangsat  kindly give me examples of formal terms in language and informal terms in language |
That is quite a subject. There is no exact point at which a word, phrase, sentence, or paragraph crosses a line between formal and informal. Langiage is a continuum from the most informal (slang, colloquialisms, nonstandard) to the most formal (legal, poetic, eloquent oratory) with all stops in between. Many linguists refer to different points on this continuum as different registers. But the language even varies greatly in different registers.
Remember that most words exist in many different registers. Every language genre uses common prepositions, adjectives, verbs, nouns, etc.
Formal language tends to use a more extensive vocabulary and a more complex sentence structure. You may run into words such as: albeit, thus, and many polysyllabic words, such as quintessential and polymorphism.
Very informal language is often not sentence based, but phrase based. It may contain simple words, slang, and shortenings (donthcha, couldya, gonna, etc.) and now, with the explosion of chat rooms and text messaging, a lot of abbreviations (c U l8er).
As one progresses to more formal language, sentences return and the vocabulary moves towards a more standard form.
What precisely did you want to know?
14-Nov-2006, 10:57
formal vs non fromal language 
Linear Mode
Similar Threads 
