Formal Language
power
turn taking
who controls flow
topic managament
context
situational (FARMS)
field, audience, register, mode, setting
how is audience affected
prestige/ authority present ?
cultural (VIBA)
values, ideas, beliefs, attitudes
in-group and out-group
subsystem patterning
creates consistency, clarity and precision
can help keep formal "style"
can aid in persuasion, reduce errors, ensure social and cultural appropriateness
can make texts "pleasant to the ear" and to read, enjoyed by audience
lexical patterning
usually discussed with syntactic patterning
simple = using same lexeme "cook cook cook"
complex= repeat root word in various forms "cook, cooking, cooked"
collocation: lexemes that often co-occur (fish + chips)
hyponymy: lexemes that fall under a subdivision of a category
antonymy: lexemes that have opposite meaning
synonymy: lexemes that are similar
semantic patterning
denotation - dictionary defenition
connotation - non literal
figurative language
discusses register
metaphor - compares 2 unlikely things to create cohesion
similie - explicit comparison of 2 things
(ETC)
word play-
irony
oxymoron
puns
aids cohesion as it allows shared connections to be drawn between abstract concepts
lexical ambiguity
jargon
asserts authority + expertise
can build in group/ act as badge of group identity
high level of coherence
low likelihood of change over time (compared w/ slang)
increase formality of register due to associated prestige, power, authority (in academic/ professional contexts)
increase precision (amount of function words compared to other words ina discourse/text)
if audience in knowledgable can increase clarity
can exlude/ confuse those who arent knowledgable
increased lexical density
longer more complicated terminology
typically more nuanced
euphemism
intention can be good or bad
good= prevent harm or offense
bad= hide information with malintent
used to navigate sensitive/ taboo topics to avoid offense
increase formality
supports social harmony by lessening impact of a statement
widens appeal, meets politeness standards
can lead to communication IF information needed to be CLEAR
can obfuscate with deliberate vagueness
power imbalance created
double-speak
purposely ambuiguous
overly euphemistic
misleading
aims to obfuscate
relies heavily on inference and implication