Essay #1 Michael Clyne I never use formal language. As long as I am understood, it doesnt matter. Do you agree?

The fundamental function of language is to communicate; however, language serves a myriad of functions in social exchanges. Language is a means of social interaction as well as a means of exchanging information, opinions and conveying meaning. Language choices across diverse contexts serve to meet or breach a variety of face needs. Formal language plays an integral role in communication, particularly when considering specific domains or semantic fields. It is a valuable resource. For this reason, it is nave and unreasonable to suggest that it should be excluded from ones linguistic repertoire. Maintaining face is a key aspect of communication and in some cases, formal language would allow a speaker to do this more effectively. Particularly in formal contexts, it is expected that formal language would be better suited, if not essential. For example, if a supreme court judge used language riddled with elision such as ave (have), slang such as bingle (car accident) and arvo (afternoon), this could potentially evoke negative attitudes or cause the judge to lose face. This is because these contexts require more formal language as they represent serious issues, especially in contrast to a casual conversation. Although these informal language features would still probably be understood, they would be considered poor choices. Formal language, in this case, is very important. Societal expectations demand that, for certain formal circumstances, the use of more elevated language is required. It has been noted, for example, that even subtle lexical variations can easily modify formality, such as examined as opposed to looked at and establish as opposed to find out (Monash University). This expectation extends over a number of domains, such as in courts, potentially evoking negative attitudes towards any considerable deviations away from it. Thus, formal language does have an important role in linguistic exchanges.

Formal language can provide more precise and sophisticated language, hence increasing its communicative power. Given a specific domain, bicycles for example, incorporating the more formal feature of jargon makes communication more efficient and effective. Words such as drivetrain, sprocket and cantilever would allow a user to be more descriptive and specific. To other similarly knowledgeable language users, this would vastly increase the meaning of the language. Furthermore, it has been said to lend dignity, weight and authority to a message (Peters). These characteristics of formal language transcend informal features by allowing the speaker to not only increase the sophistication of their language, but to give their language momentum and

weight. Although sacrificing a degree of comprehensibility by potentially alienating others through the use of a more formal style of language, the inclusion of formal features greatly enhances ones ability to be understood, elaborate and communicate within this domain. Despite formal language playing important roles in many formal settings, it would be possible to use predominantly informal language and still be understood. Informal language is largely understood, although not necessarily used, by everyone, indiscriminate of age or other factors such as gender or socio-economic status. However, the more informal and non-standard features, the more likely that mutual intelligibility may decrease. Using slang in some situations, such as addressing a member of a different generation, may alienate them. For example, teenspeak is a variety which includes many words or phrases that older generations may find difficult to understand such as calling someone a deadbeat (an unemployed person) or stone fox (very attractive yet unattainable female), or using abbreviations such as brb (be right back), atm (at the moment) and YOLO (You only live once, a popular phenomenon of internet culture). The informality of these initialisms and slang can be juxtaposed with the use of formal language, as both include potentially unknown terms. Sophisticated formal language can alienate participants who do not understand this language. Thus, it is evident that it is important to have a rounded proficiency in both formal and non-formal language to accommodate for the situation. Whilst it could be argued that in most cases that informal language could be understood, formal language is still a crucial element of communicating.

Formal language, whilst not strictly essential in every context or situation, allows speakers to maintain face, particularly in formal contexts. It also represents a richer linguistic ability, such as to be able to use jargon. Hence, it is important to have knowledge of both informal and formal language in order to be versatile over various audiences, contexts and purposes.

Bibliography Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to Australian English Usage, 2007 Monash University, Language and Learning online