Purposes of Informal Language
- Promote solidarity/equality
- Support in-group memberships
- Maintain/challenge positive & negative face
- Promote linguistic innovation
- Build social harmony, negotiate social taboo & build rapport
What is assimilation?
When sounds change to become more like neighbouring sounds
e.g. handbag → hambag.
Which type of pronouns reduce social distance?
Personal pronouns
Using a word like “sick” to mean “cool” in slang shows:
Semantic shift/elevation
"Last night was a movie."
Is this sentence an imperative, declarative, interrogative or an exclamative?
Declarative
Why might contractions like 'don’t' or 'won’t' be used instead of their full forms?
- Mimics a casual, conversational atmosphere
- Reflects spontaneity within speech
- Condenses information
Give two examples of elision.
- fish and chips → fish ’n’ chips
- you and me → you ’n’ me
- gonna (going to)
- wanna (want to)
What can a hypocoristic suffixed lexeme end in?
-io, -ie, -a, -o
List MALPOPS
M – Metaphor
A – Alliteration
L – I forgot lowkey
P – Personification
O – Onomatopoeia
P – Pun
S – Simile
Give me an example of an exclamative sentence.
"Wow, that concert was amazing!!"
How can informal language simultaneously include and exclude people?
Promotes solidarity within the in-group and excludes the out-group unfamiliar with the slang used.
Why might connected speech processes be avoided in formal registers?
- Formal contexts require clarity and prestige
- Careful articulation is prioritised over speed.
What is the difference between an acronym and initialism?
An acronym is pronounced as a word (like NASA), while an initialism is pronounced by saying each letter individually (like FBI)
Animation: Giving life-like qualities or action to non-living things or inanimate objects in a general sense.
Personification: Giving human qualities or characteristics to non-human or inanimate things.
What are these sentences examples of?
"I'm tired, but too excited to sleep."
"Love it or hate it, this app is addictive."
"I'm broke but still spending!"
Antithesis
A word/phrase used to address the reader/listener directly in the form of personal name, title/term of endearment
Vocative
How do prosodic features help speakers construct solidarity?
- Pitch: Rising intonation softens declaratives, reducing authority and fosters inclusivity.
- Stress: Emphasises key words in a humorous or playful way strengthens shared amusement between speakers.
- Tempo: Faster speech can index excitement and enthusiasm, while slowing down in intimate contexts conveys care and attentiveness
- Volume: Louder volume can reflect shared joy or energy, reinforcing social connection.
Identify an elevated synonym of 'Start'.
- embark
- commence
- initiate
- pioneer
Give me your best joke using lexical ambiguity
Why did the baker’s assistant get fired?
He was caught spicing things up.
(“Spicing things up” = adding flavor vs. naughty innuendo)
Why are simple sentence structures often used in informal texts?
- Audiences of informal texts expect fast, digestible language
- Informal texts often mimic conversation
- Informal texts are usually aimed at quick, easy communication
How do diminutives reflect Australian values?
- Egalitarian values
- Mateship
How does rising intonation at the end of declaratives (uptalk) reflect solidarity?
- It encourages the listener’s participation or confirmation
- softens statements, speakers avoid sounding overly assertive, which builds rapport in casual settings
What is reduplication and provide an example of it.
A linguistic process where all or part of a word is repeated to change its meaning or create a new word
- Easy-peasy, fancy-shmancy, heebie-jeebies
Words like “doctor,” “nurse,” and “surgeon” are related because they belong to the same category. This is called:
Semantic field.
You have 5 minutes to make a short play surrounding interrogative sentences.
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