Formal Language = Clarity & Authority/Expertise?

[dmitridr]

Hey guys,

As many of you begin to commence Unit 3 AOS 2, I think it would be a good time to look at one of the functions of formal language.

One of the main functions of formal language is to inform clearly and without ambiguity. For example, in my online posts, I often use an immense amount of jargon because of its ability to facilitate precise and economic communication. However, for the jargon to be understood, there is a level of prior knowledge that must be brought to the article, so the comprehensibility of jargon is largely predicted on the context. In addition, jargon can be used to display a high of expertise and authority.

Furthermore, elevated lexis (often of French/Latin origin) can be used to elevate an author’s credibility and authority. For example, compare the following three pairs:

Commence   Begin
Retain   Keep
Give up (phrasal verb)   Quit

Out of the three pairs above (going horizontal for each pair), which is formal and which is informal? For example, the first pair (commence vs begin) – ‘commence’ comes from French (commencer) and ‘begin’ comes from German (beginnen). If you studied the Norman invasion of 1066 from Unit 2, you will recall that the Norman French brought in an immense amount of lexemes into the language, and in many ways devalued the Germanic equivalents.

When used appropriately, the ‘French or Latin’ equivalent will allow you to heighten your expertise and credibility – giving it a particularly academic tone. Think of an essay you write during a SAC – you’ll always aim for the formal equivalent (remember how your teacher says to avoid colloquialisms?).

Moreover, formal language can also prevent readers from taking advantage of any possible loopholes in a legal document (e.g. terms and conditions). Oftentimes, legal documents will make use of what is known as lexical density. The more lexically dense a text is, the more information is will provide to the audience. For example:

‘If you are not the intended recipient (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not use, copy, distribute or deliver to anyone this message (or any part of its contents ) or take any action in reliance on it.’

I hope this helps! Have a think about it and see how it's relevant in our society.
Dmitri

[Joseph41]

Nice post, Dmitri!

Commence   Begin
Retain   Keep
Give up (phrasal verb)   Quit

A bit unrelated, but this also tends to be the case with English in general. So like, the Latin word will hold the most clout - and then the French word - and then the Anglo-Saxon word. You can see this in, for example, the climb/ascend pair.

And with food, too - the uncooked iteration tends to be Anglo-Saxon, whilst the cooked version (more prestigious?) is French!

[dmitridr]

Nice post, Dmitri!

A bit unrelated, but this also tends to be the case with English in general. So like, the Latin word will hold the most clout - and then the French word - and then the Anglo-Saxon word. You can see this in, for example, the climb/ascend pair.

And with food, too - the uncooked iteration tends to be Anglo-Saxon, whilst the cooked version (more prestigious?) is French!

Thanks man! Yes I definitely agree - great observation