formality outcome

Question 1

what is Jargon?

Answer 1

Jargon is specialised language for a particular field.

Jargon can demonstrate authority and expertise. The language is precise; it’s field specific meanings are understood by a familiar audience. In contrast, this can lead to excluding those without familiarity of the field.

Question 2

what is Euphemism?

Answer 2

Euphemism us language that masks or mitigates a taboo or potentially offensive topic.

Euphemism can support social harmony, and lessen the impact of upsetting or offensive content. In formal contexts, this can be used to meet politeness standards and appeal to a wide audience.
It can also lead to communication breakdown, as it avoids directness.

Question 3

what is double speak

Answer 3

Double speak is language which obscures, obfuscates or hinders the meaning or intent of a statement. A writer may ‘talk around’ a topic to mask their intent.

Double speak relies on inference, implication, euphemism and lexical ambiguity.
This can also include the overuse of jargon, syntactic patterning and semantic patterning to the same end.

Question 4

what is Rhetoric?

Answer 4

Rhetoric is informing, persuading and motivating a reader or listener into action that supports the viewpoint of the speaker or writer. This includes political and ideological viewpoints.

You have studied persuasive writing throughout high school. Rhetorical devices can include: subsystem patterning; appeals to emotion, logic or credibility; repetition; euphemism; connotative language.

Question 5

Non-discriminatory language

Answer 5

Non-discriminatory language is language that focuses on creating inclusivity and equality, by avoiding prejudice and stereotyping.
It is common in formal language and can evolve quickly.

Common examples include the rise of gender inclusive terminology such as:
‘firefighter’ > ‘fireman’; ‘police officer’ > ‘policeman’

Question 6

Reinforcing social distance and authority

Answer 6

Formal language can be used to indicate social distance.

When addressing an unknown audience, speakers and writers are more likely to rely on standard, formal language and features such as euphemism so as not to offend or isolate anyone.

Deference to authority can be shown through:
- Use of formal terms of address (titles and occupation)
- Use of apologies
- Use of hedging and low modality verbs

Authority of a speaker can be indicated through syntactic features such as passive voice, by removing subject agency.

Question 7

Manipulating

Answer 7

Manipulating is emphasising specific elements of a message (and downplaying others) to influence the response from the audience. This can be done by emphasising one viewpoint, without giving attention to others.

This includes presenting personal opinion as fact.
Speakers and writers can manipulate information flow through front focus, end focus and clefting to emphasise certain ideas or information.

Question 8

Obfuscating

Answer 8

Obfuscating is the use of deliberately vague, ambiguous or confusing language that is difficult to understand; the use of language to mask the message.

This involves the use of complex formal language, such as rhetoric, jargon and double speak.

Question 9

Promoting social harmony

Answer 9

Social harmony refers to a positive social environment in which all individuals feel comfortable, respected and at ease with each other.

Promoting social harmony involves breaking down barriers between social and cultural group.

Formal language can achieve this through non-discriminatory language, euphemism, and politeness strategies.

Question 10

Negotiating social taboos

Answer 10

Social taboos are topics, actions or beliefs which are considered uncomfortable or controversial, and are typically avoided or equivocated (concealed or made ambiguous) in social contexts.

Language features used to negotiate social taboos include:
- Euphemism or figurative language
- Neutral lexical choices (i.e. avoiding positive or negative connotations)
- Highly technical language (such as jargon)
Nominalisation
Use of tense

Question 11

Syntactic patterning

Answer 11

Listing: collection of three or more related elements, separated by commas or bullet points. E.g., I like reading, cats and eating cake; We invited the strippers, Hitler, and Stalin.

Parallelism: Two or more phrases, clauses or sentences that are structurally similar; repetition of syntactic structure. E.g., it takes ones to know one; I came, I saw, I conquered.

Antithesis: parallelism using contrasting elements, often antonyms, e.g., easy come, easy go;, the long and the short of it.

Question 12

Phonological patterns

Answer 12

Alliteration: repetition of initial phonemes
Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds within words

Assonance:repetition of vowel sounds in words

Onomatopeoia: words created from the sounds they represent

Rhyme: repetition of similar phonemes at the end of words

Rhythm: repeated patterns of intonation across phrases, clauses or sentences.

Question 13

Semantic patterns

Answer 13

Figurative language: words or phrases used for non-literative meanings. Features of semantic patterning are forms of figurative language - use the most specific metalanguage you can.

Metaphor: a figure of speech in which one thing is said to be another

Simile: a figurative comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as

Personification: attributing human characteristics to non-human entities or inanimate objects.

Animation: bringing inanimate objects to life using motion and expression. E.g., The words leapt off the page.

Irony: a speaker of writer states one things, but means another, usually the opposite. Includes sarcasm, understatement or backhanded compliments.

Oxymoron: combining contradictory words or phrases for contrasting effect, evoking humour, irony or emphasis. E.h., bittersweet, virtual reality.

Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. E.g., I’ve told you a thousand times.

Lexical ambiguity: existance of two or more possible meanings of a single word

Puns: exploitation on lexical ambiguity for humorous or rhetorical effect. Relies on phonological, orthographical or semantic similarity

Question 14

Morphological patterns

Answer 14

Abbreviation: umbrella term for processes of shortening a word including

Shortening: removal of syllables to shorten the word, i.e. influenza > flu

Contraction: combining two or more words, usually by deleting letters and adding an apostrophe, e.h. Cannot > can’t

Initialism: abbreviation formed by initials, each pronounced, e.g., By The Way > BTW

Acronym: abbreviation formed by initials, pronounceable as a new lexeme, e.g., NASA, laser

Affixation: addition of bound morphemes, including prefixes, suffixes and infixes, e.g., abso-bloody-lutely

Compounding: formation of a word by combining words or stems, e.g., greenhouse, viewpoint

Blending: combining words with phonemic overlap (overlap of syllable sounds), or eliminating phonemes, e.g, brunch, smog

Backformation: formation by removing actual or supposed affixation e.g., Editor > edit

Conversion of word class: changing clas of a word, such as using a noun to represent a verb, e.g., google, email

Question 15

Building rapport

Answer 15

Rapport is a sense of friendliness, harmony and shared understanding.

Rapport can be build by showing respect through formal language, particularly through the use of politeness strategies to meet positive and negative face needs.

Question 16

discourse strategy opening + closing

Answer 16

Openings are used to establish contact or introduce people and/or topics. They may be scripted and rehearsed. Acknowledgements of Country are a common opening to formal ceremonies and meetings in Australia.

Closings in formal conversation tend to be formulaic, such as “Thank you for your time”. They are used to meet politeness standards.

Question 17

discourse strategy Adjacency pairs and minimal responses

Answer 17

Adjacency pairs are a common method of topic management in formal settings, such as question and responses in interviews, or FAQ sections of websites. Purposes of adjacency pairs in formal contexts include to meet politeness standards, or ensure clarity.

Minimal
responses/backchannels, as in informal texts, provide feedback to the speaker without taking the floor. In formal contexts they are likely to indicate engagement and understanding.

Question 18

discourse feature Overlapping speech

Answer 18

Overlapping speech is less common in formal texts, given the formulaic nature. Turn taking is guided by clear roles within conversations. Overlap indicates a power imbalance, or an unharmonious social environment, i.e., tension between participants.

Question 19

Discourse marker and non-fluency features

Answer 19

Discourse markers/particles, such as ‘well’, ‘you know’, ‘right’, are used to organise the flow of speech. They can signal topic changes or be used to soften the blunt statements.

Non-fluency features, such as pauses, filled pauses/voiced hesitations, false starts, repetition and repairs. These are a natural part of speech, and are thus still present in planned formal speech. They can signal a speaker is taking time to think through responses, or remember planned points. They can also be used for emphases.

Question 20

Face needs

Answer 20

“Face” refers to the aspect of the listener that is being acknowledged through the use of politeness strategies.

Positive face: the desire (by the listener) to be seen as competent and liked by others. Reflects needs for social recognition, appreciation and inclusion.

Negative face: the desire to be free from imposition and constraints on autonomy. Need for independence, privacy and freedom to act. Desire to maintain individuality and personal space.

Question 21

Face-threatening acts

Answer 21

Face-threatening acts can lead to embarrassment, loss of face, offence or conflict.
Examples of face-threatening acts include: making requests; giving directives; complaining; disagreeing;interrupting; and delivering bad news.

Question 22

Positive politeness strategies in formal contexts

Answer 22

In formal context, positive politeness is often used:

By those with a shared goal or understanding, i.e. within a business or political party
When participants have reduced social distance as it encourages and builds social connections

Question 23

Negative politeness strategies

Answer 23

In formal contexts, negative politeness strategies are used:
To promote social cohesion

For tactful and deferential communication;

to avoid challenging to imposing on audience while while respecting autonomy

To avoid confrontation and taboo topics through
hedging and indirectness

To assert social hierarchies and social distance

To convey respect through polite expressions and formal terms of address

Question 24

Establishing expertise

Answer 24

Expertise is a high level of knowledge on a specific subject. Those with expertise can use formal language to distinguish themselves from those without. This can be done through:

Jargon

Complex or embedded sentences

Patterning such as antonymy and parallelism to articulate complex relationships between ideas or concepts

When addressing an audience outside of one’s expertise, jargon can still establish authority, but can interfere with and reduce coherence. Experts can establish coherence here through use of metaphor, simile and analogy.

Question 25

clarifying

Answer 25

gives users the ability to be specific, precise and accurate by attempting to remove the ambiguity that sometimes arises in language use. the selection of lang in formal contexts often needs to address a wider audience and diverse audience who do not necessarily have shared knowledge or values therefore an enhanced need for clarity when dealing with formal texts.

Question 25

discourse strag + cooperation in formal texts- Topic management

Answer 25

The nature of topic management in formal discourse indicates the tenor of the discourse - between speakers, and between speaker and audience. If the tenor is socially distant, or involves hierarchies, the more powerful or authoritative speaker can dictate topic management, while others follow. Features that indicate topic management include discourse features or questions (such as in an interview context) which change topic.

Question 26

discourse strag + cooperation in formal texts- Turn-taking

Answer 26

Discourse between interlocutors is smoother and more organised in formal texts compared to informal. Societal expectations can dictate turn-taking, such as completing adjacency pairs and responding to interrogatives and imperatives. The management of turn-taking reflects the tenor of the discourse. In relationships with power differentials or hierarchies, the interlocutor with greater power may use imperatives - which give a sense of authority - while those with less power may tend towards interrogatives or falling intonation to show deference.

Question 27

discourse strag + cooperation in formal texts-Management of repair sequences

Answer 27

Underlying intents of the interlocutors: Are they presenting themselves as authoritative, or establishing expertise? How might this impact tenor with an audience? Situational context: Tenor, particularly hierarchical roles of speakers, dictate the appropriateness of repairs. E.g. the difference between a tutor correcting a student, compared to a student correcting a tutor.

Question 28

Code switching

Answer 28

In formal contexts, code switching works to bridge cultural boundaries and promote unity and social harmony. Formal uses of code switching include ethnolect speakers using non-English honorifics to refer to elders.

Question 29

Cohesion - L

Answer 29

lexical word choice: using vocab that is clear concise and relevant to the topic and relevant to the topic at hand which includes synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, hypernymy and jargon

Question 30

cohesion- C

Answer 30

Collocation Increasing cohesion for a specific audience within a certain context through the use of co-occurring words. For example, business jargon tends to include a lot of collocation, such as ‘middle management,’ ‘land a deal’ and ‘circle back,’ which increases efficiency and clarity among co-workers.

Question 31

cohesion- I

Answer 31

Information flow Presenting information in a way that will maximise the audience’s understanding, especially given there is usually less opportunity for audiences to seek clarification in formal texts. This can include clefting, front focus and end focus.

Question 32

cohesion-E

Answer 32

Repetition Used intentionally to ensure that the audience understands the speaker or writer’s main arguments. Repetition can also be used to emphasise key points, or to create rhythm. Substitution The careful planning and editing of texts to reduce unnecessary repetitiveness while still being clear, through the replacement of words. Ellipsis Used when a word is assumed to be understood in context, as a way of avoiding repetition, although it is less common than in informal texts.

Question 33

cohesion-A

Answer 33

Adverbials Often acts to signpost the order of the text, time place manner improving the overall flow+ clarity conjunction coordinates= and or but subordinating although after because

Question 34

Coherence-I

Answer 34

Inference Using inference to help the audience make connections that may not be explicit in the text. However, many formal texts are addressed to an audience from varying backgrounds, which impacts the level of shared contextual understanding, so there tends to be a greater reliance on explicit communication for clarity. Meaning understood from context "she's wearing black"

Question 35

Coherence-L

Answer 35

Logical ordering Crafting how information is released by making the content easy to follow. A high level of logical ordering demonstrates that the text is likely more formal as it has been planned to flow in a logical manner.

Question 36

Coherence-F

Answer 36

Formatting Maintaining text conventions in formatting, as the expected positioning and appearance of the information contributes to the ease in which it can be found. Formatting in formal texts can also be influenced by the text’s functions.

Question 37

Coherence-C

Answer 37

Conventions Formal texts closely adhere to conventions, as the audience’s familiarity with these reduces the cognitive load required to interpret the text. Texts that adhere to conventions can also communicate authority and expertise, indicating an established knowledge and familiarity of the required expectations. (e.g., correct grammar, standard punctuation, complete sentences). Consistency: when similar concepts or entities are referred to in the same way throughout a text. Includes consistent formatting, punctuation, font and spacing to create a visually unified text.

Question 38

Lexical meaning, especially sense relations:

Answer 38

Synonymy Words with similar meanings. E.g., “happy” and “joyful.” Antonymy Words with opposite meanings. E.g., “hot” and “cold.” Hyponymy and Hypernymy Hyponym: A more specific term within a broader category. Hypernym: A general category that includes more specific terms. E.g., “Rose” is a hyponym of “flower” (hypernym). Idiom A fixed expression whose meaning is not literal and cannot be deduced from its individual words. E.g., “Kick the bucket” (means to die). Denotation The literal, dictionary meaning of a word. E.g., “Snake” denotes a legless reptile. Connotation The associated or emotional meaning a word carries. E.g., “Snake” connotes betrayal or danger.

Question 39

euphemism and Dysphemism

Answer 39

Euphemism A mild or indirect expression used in place of a harsh or unpleasant one. E.g., “Passed away” instead of “died.” Dysphemism A harsh or blunt expression, often used for shock, humour, or criticism. E.g., “Croaked” instead of “died.”

Question 40

syntactic types of sentences and their functions

Answer 40

Declarative: Statement (I’m tired.) Imperative: Command (Close the door.) Interrogative: Question (Did you go?) Exclamative: Emotion (What a day!)

Question 41

Word Formation Processes morph and

Answer 41

Neologism Definition: The creation of a new word that did not previously exist. Example: Selfie, staycation, ghosting. Relevance to Formality: Neologisms often emerge in informal contexts (e.g., slang, internet culture), but some may be adopted into formal language over time. Borrowing Definition: Taking words from other languages and incorporating them into English. Example: Déjà vu (French), emoji (Japanese), kindergarten (German). Relevance to Formality: Borrowed terms are common in both formal (e.g., legal terms from Latin) and informal registers. Commonisation Definition: A brand name or proper noun becomes a common noun or verb. Example: Google → “to google something”, Band-Aid, Velcro. Relevance to Formality: Typically more informal, and often avoided in highly formal texts in favour of generic terms. Nominalisation Definition: Converting verbs or adjectives into nouns to create a more abstract or formal tone. Example: decide → decision, fail → failure.

Question 42

Coherence and cohesion

Answer 42

Cohesion: the use of grammatical and lexical techniques to link words together to create meaning; how the elements of a text form the whole How a text holds together. Coherence: the logical and meaningful organisation of a text; the arrangement of ideas, information and elements for successful communication. Whether a text makes sense.

Question 43

ECLAIR: Cohesion

Answer 43

E - Ellipsis, repetition and substitution C - Collocation L - Lexical choice A - Adverbials and conjunctions I - Information flow R - Reference

Question 44

Coherence - FLICC

Answer 44

F - Formatting L - Logical ordering I - Inference C - Cohesion C -Consistency and convention

Question 45

Cohesion - R

Answer 45

R - Reference Reference: When an expression is used to refer to another word, phrase or clause (the referent). Anaphoric reference: author or speaker refers to something already mentioned. Avoids repetition. Cataphoric reference: referring to something that will be mentioned later. Builds anticipation or set up expectations. Diectic reference: references within the context of the discourse; signal people, places, objects, time or situations in which a discourse is occurring.