Informal or colloquial language represents everyday language; that is, it is spontaneous language, regionalist, and unconcerned with grammatical norms; people regularly use it in daily conversations, especially when they have some intimacy.
In today’s article, we will find a bit more about informal communication, when it is appropriate to use, which social groups are better to use than others, and short examples.
HIGHLY Recommended Article: Formal Communication – 5 Things to Know
Informal Communication 3 Things to Know
1. We exclusively use with people close to or easy to interact with
Informal communication is commonly short and sometimes is applied when the interlocutors are friends or family and at times laid-back.
Formal communication is grammarly structured in the other way; the informal one can come from it but can have a meaning that has nothing to do with the original purpose.
- For example, the word bomb in its original purpose means something explosive and dangerous, but as slang, something is outstanding. Your jacket looks bomb!
People relate to each other according to affinities and identities. For example, in political, childhood friendships, or the same academic background, slang can come from a burst of laughter, a relatable moment, anything that a social group that has a genuine bond has.
These informal communication networks are as important as or more fruitful than formal communications, primarily when they do not function effectively or leave unsatisfied persons as to information needs.
Characteristics of informal language:
- Does not care about the correct use of grammatical standards;
- Uses simple vocabulary, popular expressions, and colloquialisms;
- Use of slang, profanity, invented words, onomatopoeia, gestures;
- Application of abbreviated or contracted terms, for example, aight/ayt = alright;
- It is committed to regional, cultural and social changes.
2. It can be restricted and socially accessible.
Slangs can be coded for some social groups, and for others, a lot of people can have knowledge about them, and depending on the rate of social acceptance, will be used or not.
They are two types of informal communication (slangs): a) one is the social group slang and b) common slangs.
A social group slang is restricted to a group of people, and only they know the meaning of a particular word or neologism; instead, everyday slang is the one that got out of proportion, and now society has access to it.
|Type of Slang||Social Group Slang||Common Slang|
|Characteristic||Code within members;||Can connect different people;|
|Expression of feelings restricted toward society;||Breaks formality;|
|Represents a social choice;||Express in an emphatic way frustration, happiness, accordance, or lack of it.|
3. With the intensity of a social group, slang is created.
Informal communication does not respect the formally established lines and is carried out, generally orally, and is, therefore, faster, but at the same timeless rigorous.
As mentioned in earlier paragraphs, informal communication (slang) is built by connected and genuine social groups.
For example, you can come up with a language that what not so different from English, but some words have opposite meanings, and code that so that only you and your friends and family understand. Some words will be created and added meaning.
Slangs are nothing more than codes that are adjusted to a social group, most times from formal communication rules base; some make much more sense than others, and we can easily see it.
When joining a group of people we just met, sometimes what is humor for us is dark humor, and that also depends on the historical society has.
Informal language is used with:
- Family members;
- Easy-going people or who already have some intimacy;
- Some advertisements also use this type of language to affect and achieve the target audience.
Personality in informal language has a huge role; people who are more restrictive about using language can have some trouble using them. Being near people who use slang can create discomfort and close up.
We must know that not everyone is comfortable using slang. If we want to find out where and with whom, we have to own formal communication and interact with people based on conversational hints, moral and ethical. The intimacy we might develop or not with them.
Although restricting, slang helps out spreading a message more accessibly
Slang is a part of the social phenomenon that is communicating, and sometimes turn the process easier and might just what we need to get closer to a certain someone.
Let us imagine we are in a workplace, where we have to use formal language and every step we give to build our professional image and affects our career.
As we mentioned earlier, some people feel uncomfortable with slang. This could be understood as out of place; teamwork and work gatherings that topics discussed can get a bit intimate because we share experiences.
A colleague with an extrovert personality or easy-going might be the one we should start using the informal language and see how he feels and reacts with us. Sometimes we have to try out and go out of a safe zone to leave a positive mark.
7 Common Slangs Expressions and Meaning
|Lit||This slang is used to say that something is perfect. We can say that a party was Lit when it was literally on fire, drinks, people, environment everything contributed.||Dude, the party last night was lit! Where were you?|
|Extra||We can say that someone is “extra,” which means they create unnecessary drama or overreact emotionally or with an action that a group doesn’t see the same way.||She took her clothes off during the party. Extra!|
|Spill the Tea||People regularly use spill the tea to ask for news, catch up on something that may be happening, to gossip.||Girl, I heard Jesse’s party yesterday was lit! Come on, spill the tea!|
|Mood||We use mood to describe how we feel without saying too much or feeling the same spirit or perspective of an idea.||– This weekend, I need some Netflix and chill!– Damn right, girl, big mood.|
|GOAT||Often accompanied with the requisite goat emoji (????), GOAT is an acronym for “greatest of all time.” We use this to talk about someone is doing something right, and people should follow up.||Have you heard Astroworld from Travis Scott? That guy is the GOAT!|
|Chill||We can use chill if we want someone to slow down or lay back a little bit and enjoy the moment.||– Let’s go home already!– Chill, we still have plenty of things to see.|
|On fleek||We can use it on fleek to say that something is done perfectly and looks terrific.||Your outfit is on fleek!|
Informal Communication is another way to use a language and be adapted depending on cultural and social morals and ethics.
Anyone can use slang, and there are two types of them a) social groups slangs that have impacted a large group of people and b) common slangs that are more restrictive and can use slangs that serve as code words to that group.
Reference and Further Reading