Learn to Navigate
Formality in
YOUR
Second Language
A Publication of:
Translation Excellence, Inc.
2620 S. Parker Rd., Suite 210
Aurora, CO 80014
Phone: 720-325-0459
Toll-free: 877-409-6737
www.translationexcellence.com
[email protected]
Writer:
Elizabeth Conant is a Colorado College student
majoring in Comparative Literature.
Elizabeth is passionate about language learning.
For the last four years, she has intensively
pursued French and Spanish, through a
combination of classes, independent study,
and study abroad. She is fluent in French and
advanced in Spanish. Elizabeth completed an
internship program with Translation Excellence in
the summer of 2014.
Reviewer:
Nisar Nikzad is the founder and CEO of
Translation Excellence.
He steers the company’s vision and as a freelance
linguist for over 10 years prior to founding
Translation Excellence, has a lot of tips to share!
3
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Introduction.
Mastery of a foreign language requires a broad range of knowledge including vocabulary, grammar,
written conventions, and idiomatic phrases. Yet once you learn to employ these components of language,
there are still nuances to communication that are not commonly taught in foreign language courses,
namely tailoring your mode of expression to the people you are speaking to. In English or your native
language, you may slide easily into and out of different styles of expression depending on if you are
speaking to a supervisor, a friend, or a spouse. You are likely capable of addressing a group at a formal
business convention or an informal gathering. These linguistic degrees of formality perform a necessary
social function in denoting the correct degree of respect, yet they are hard to describe in concrete terms.
Because navigating degrees of formality in a second
language is a challenging but necessary step toward
fluency, we are providing this guide for you to understand
and use formal and informal language as a second
language learner. You’ll find a description of linguistic
registers as markers of changing language depending
on the situation, a few case studies of formal language
use outside of English, and an in-depth guide to learning
to navigate formality in any language, including specific
sections on the business world and informal language
use. Use this guide as both an informational look at
how you use language in the different contexts that you meet throughout the day, as well as a good base of
knowledge for increasing your ability as a non-native speaker to communicate in the business world and at
home. Ultimately, the ability to switch effortlessly from formal to informal speech will make you a more adaptable
and capable speaker in your second language, allowing you to hit all the right notes regardless of your audience.
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Tip # 1
4
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Linguistic
registers
Translation Excellence, Inc.
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www.translationexcellence.com [email protected]
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5
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Native speakers of a language intuitively infer the
formality of a situation according to the linguistic register
in use. A register is the sociolinguistic term for a variety
of a language as dependent on the social or professional
context. Registers differ from dialects and regionalisms in
that they are defined by their use, rather than by their users.
That is to say that, while two dialects may be represented
by two English speakers whose language use differs due to
their regions of origin, a single speaker of English is likely
to slide naturally between registers throughout the day
depending on what they are speaking about and with whom.
The term, while widely accepted, is still subject to much
debate within the field of linguistics. The terms “field” and
“tenor” can therefore refer to the same or similar concepts.
While language use varies greatly based on mode, such as
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written or spoken, registers generally refer to the use of both
modes of languages according to a scale of formality. To
native speakers, employing and inferring the correct register
is an innate language skill, but to speakers of a second
language, the nuances of vocabulary and syntactic patterns
that designate each register is a difficult learned skill.
In English, the five registers proposed by Martin
Joos are considered a widely accepted working
model for discussing distinct registers. The five
registers, in descending order of formality, are.
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Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Frozen or Static
An unchanging text, this language is often written or
recited. While this style of speaking is used in specific contexts,
it often sounds less natural due to archaic or highly stylized
language. In many cases, the language in the frozen register
does not resemble the modern norms of the other registers
as they evolve away from the static text. Examples include—
Miranda Rights, The Lord’s Prayer, The Pledge of Allegiance of the
US, wedding vows, The Gettysburg Address, The 12 Steps of AA.
Formal
Generally either a one-way form of communication,
such as a speech, or communication between strangers. This
form of language may place great importance on technical
language and definitions of words.
Examples include—T.V. and radio news announcements,
introductions between strangers, official government or
company statements, instructional speeches and videos,
eulogies and other traditionally codified speeches, outreach
email templates.
Consultative
Characterized by a teacher-apprentice relationship,
this register generally permits interruptions but consists of
explanations of background information and a great deal of
technical vocabulary.
Examples include— doctor/patient, teacher/student,
company superior/company employee, caller/tech support
Casual
One of the most widely employed registers, used between
friends and acquaintances on equal social footing. Interruptions
are common and no background information is provided.
Colloquialisms, slang, and vulgarities are used frequently, and
it often characterizes casual group settings.
Examples include—speaking with teammates, friends,
acquaintances on equal footing, classmates.
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7
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Intimate
Used in very close, well-established relationships, usually in private settings. Intonation is more important than precise wording
or grammar, and a certain degree of private vocabulary developed for mutual understanding
between the speakers is employed. Non-verbal
messages are highly important in this register.
Examples include—close friends, parents and
children, siblings, couples, and other family.
The French conceptualization of linguistic
registers offers an interesting case study in terms
of the theory’s practical application. While most
sources identify three main registers: frozen, current, and familiar, the specific definitions of the
third register are subject to heavy debate. Though
some sources include both intimate family discussions and vulgar, colloquial communication
between peers in this category, other sources propose other divisions of the familiar register. Some
of these include a popular register or a slang register for the extremely colloquial mode of speech
used by young people and by societally marginalized groups. Others propose an additional vulgar
register separate from the popular or slang register that contains modes of expression constituted primarily by vulgar language. This variety of
categorization suggestions the fundamental challenge of naming specific linguistic registers—it’s
hard to put all the ways we talk into a few boxes.
The last few of these proposed registers - popular, slang, and vulgar - are based in
part not only on the context they are used in,
between groups of friends, but also greatly on
the groups typically associated with their use:
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young people, recent immigrant populations,
and other marginalized groups. As such, they
verge away from the strict definition of a register, but suggest an important reality of navigating formality in any language: the intersection of
identity and language. Historically, these are the
groups that practice the greatest linguistic innovation and eventually effect the most change on the
general language. Specifically, women between
the ages of 12-22 exert the greatest influence over
the continued evolution of American English.
For the language learner interested in gaining
complete fluency, it may not be necessary to
learn the specific vocabulary and syntax of each
group in the language you wish to learn. However, the ability to navigate register is a universal
linguistic need. Those who are not able to master
more than the casual register, such as some children living in poverty, are ultimately compromised in their social adaptability and mobility.
Tip # 2
8
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Formal
Registers in
Your Second
Language
Translation Excellence, Inc.
Phone: 720.325.0459 Toll-free: 877.409.6737
www.translationexcellence.com [email protected]
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9
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Speakers of foreign languages adapt their speech
similarly according to the social function, but while
English has loosely marked registers, formality is a far more
codified linguistic feature of many foreign languages.
Formality can be marked by pronoun use, verb form,
grammatical formulas, noun changes, and nearly any
other linguistic feature according to the language. It’s
possibly the most challenging aspect of learning a foreign
language, and for this reason, non-native courses often
focus on more formal versions of a language for beginners.
Case Study: Arabic
In Arabic, non-native speakers face great challenge
in navigating formality. The most universally understood
form of Arabic is Modern Standard Arabic, or Fusha,
which was developed from Classical Quranic Arabic as the
literary linguistic standard across member states of the
Arab League. Fusha is used as the standard in journalistic
writing, political discourse, and other written documents;
however, most spoken Arabic falls into the regional
forms called Amiya. These dialects can vary greatly from
Fusha and from each other, so that although many are
mutually intelligible, they constitute distinct languages.
When most Arabic learners arrive abroad, they
are prepared to interact with the formalized literary
world but not necessarily to use the language on the
street. As such, to navigate formality, they must learn
informality. That’s not to say that polite discourse is absent
in Amiya—like, Fusha, many varieties of Amiya contain
different pronouns and forms to employ depending on
seniority and formality of the occasion. Those looking to
interact in a business setting will use their Fusha training
for written documents, but should also look to specialize
their knowledge according to their target location.
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10
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Case Study: Japanese
Those looking to learn Japanese face a similar
challenge, as Japanese is one of the languages with
perhaps the most variety and highest codification
of honorifics. Beginning Japanese textbooks
often focus on the polite form of Japanese used
by newscasters, but the polite form is only one of
three types of formal speech in Japanese. Polite,
respectful, and humble language are all distinct
registers in Japanese marked by the use of different
vocabulary—formal verbs and nouns in place of
informal—as well as separate and often more
elaborate grammatical structures. In the case
of each formal register, subcategories exist, and
within polite speech alone, four versions exist:
informal, polite, formal, and the combination
version of polite formal. In addition, use of titles
and honorifics is extensive and complex.
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Yet even as formal Japanese is standard in
the business world, informal Japanese is likely
the most widely spoken form. Unlike foreign
Japanese learners, Japanese children learn the
informal form first and are only expected to
master formal speech by the end of their teenage
years. Because foreigners are often given a
pass for speaking informally, even in business
contexts, various Japanese as a Second Language
resources have criticized the traditional textbook
emphasis on polite language. For the beginning
Japanese learner, it may simply be most
important to consider your target audience—a
superior company or peers of your own age?
From there, it may be most practical to focus on
the appropriate form and come back to the other
forms later as your fluency develops.
Tip # 3
11
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Use of formal/
informal
pronouns
and titles
Translation Excellence, Inc.
Phone: 720.325.0459 Toll-free: 877.409.6737
www.translationexcellence.com [email protected]
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12
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
The use of pronouns to denote respect is a
common feature of formality across languages families.
To differentiate between a formal and informal
pronoun is referred to as the “T-V distinction,” from
the Latin informal tu and formal vos. The language
families and languages that employ formal and
informal pronouns include: Germanic, Romance,
Hellenic, Celtic, Balto-Slavic, Indic, Finno-Ugric, Turkic,
Semitic, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean,
Indonesian, and Basque. While English originally
had the informal thou and formal you, the informal
pronoun fell out of use in favor of a universalized you.
With only one second person pronoun left in English,
learning to navigate pronoun use is one of the most
universal and challenging experiences of the native
English speaker while learning a second language.
Practical use of formal and informal pronouns, as
well as other markers of formal registers, varies greatly
based on the social structures and language norms
that govern each culture. While in Spain the informal
tú is the normal form employed between strangers and
colleagues, in Costa Rica the formal usted is employed
even in informal situations, similar to the nearly
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ubiquitous use of the formal Portuguese você in Brazil.
In addition to culturally specific uses, social factors
such as age, status, and familiarity determine the use.
When entering a new culture, the pronoun patterns
reflect normal relationships. For example, in many
cultures, business colleagues and acquaintances
make strong personal relationships, while in others,
personal information is considered private and
colleagues prefer to keep work relationships separate
from social relationships. The use of formal/informal
pronouns as well as other relationship markers will
reflect these cultural standards. Do superiors use
the informal pronoun? If an employee is older than
the superior, which standard determines pronoun
use- age or superiority? At what age is it normal to
use the formal pronoun with a familiar and would a
slightly younger person be insulted to use the formal?
All these questions are socially dependent
and therefore very specific to context. In this
case, language learning and learning cultural
social
structures
are
inseparable
processes.
Tip # 4
13
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Tips for the
Language
Learner
Translation Excellence, Inc.
Phone: 720.325.0459 Toll-free: 877.409.6737
www.translationexcellence.com [email protected]
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14
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Foreign language courses can offer descriptions
of usage and example dialogues showcasing various
hypothetical contexts for use, but these tools can
only act as a beginning to understanding current,
practical application of pronouns and formal language.
Once you have reached the point as a student that
you are interacting with native speakers, the on-thespot challenge of determining the correct degree
and markers of formality truly comes into play. While
it’s likely that many of your first interactions will be
unsure and you will make missteps, these mistakes
are an integral part of the learning processes.
The moments when you need to determine which
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pronoun to use are likely to be split-second decisions
made during the course of conversation. To help with
this decision process, you can use this list of practical
tips as a resource to handle the situation with grace.
15
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Listen Carefully
The best way to gather input on the type
of interaction you’re in the middle of it is to pay
attention to it. Is the person you’re speaking with
providing nonverbal markers of informality or of
respectful distance? Which pronoun do they employ with you? Are there others in the conversation and what formal choices do they make?
Matching their tone is likely the best way to make
the decision, and often the cues you observe will
make the appropriate pronoun a clear choice.
Don’t Avoid Pronouns
You didn’t get the information you needed from the conversation, or maybe you’ve just
met them and you need to decide which form of
“How are you?” to employ. Although you’re honing your circumlocution skills, don’t use them to
avoid pronouns altogether. You may be able to omit
the second person from one conversation, but you
won’t be able to keep the trick up if the interaction develops into a longer relationship. Just take
the dive and make a decision, and when you do….
Lean towards Formal
In many cultures, it’s the more senior person who gets to set the tone of the conversation,
and the native speaker you’re talking with is likely
to feel far more comfortable asking you to switch to
informal than to switch to formal address. When
you choose formal speech, you’re giving them the
freedom to determine the tone of the conversation.
Just Ask
If the social area is so grey that you’re afraid that
either choice could result in a social misstep, just
remember that the native speaker is aware that you
are in the processes of perfecting their language.
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Ask what they prefer, explaining that English
doesn’t make the difference. Making mistakes and asking questions is a step that can’t
be skipped in the language learning process.
While you’re trying out your registers
of language, seeking out service situations
while abroad offers the perfect case study for
pronoun use. In most cultures, staff members interacting with the public use a more
formal, but still common, style of address.
How do shop workers address you, and does
it change with their age? What title, if any,
do they address you with? Listen in on other
conversations to see if age and gender change
the register of formality between staff and
customers. And if you find that you’ve used
the wrong pronoun or have made another misstep—you can just pay and walk away.
While the ideal means of perfecting
pronounce usage is immersion, it can be challenging and expensive to travel to the location
of your target culture. One excellent substitute
is to seek out a diverse array of media in the
language you are learning. How do newscasters
speak as opposed to the cast of a sitcom? While
it’s most ideal to consume media from your target culture, it can also be extremely helpful to
watch dubbed or subtitled English movies and
T.V. shows and listen to the choices the translators made for the dubbed version. Look for
the moment in a romantic comedy when Julia
Roberts and Hugh Grant switch from vous to
tu and what it means in their interactions, or
any media that you already know and enjoy.
Tip # 5
16
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
In the
Business
World
Translation Excellence, Inc.
Phone: 720.325.0459 Toll-free: 877.409.6737
www.translationexcellence.com [email protected]
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17
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
While service situations and media can provide
broad preparation for using formal registers,
mastering the style of speaking used in business
and professional relationships remains a separate
challenge. A language register is not equivalent to
technical terminology, also called jargon, which can be
memorized like any specialized vocabulary. The use of
language within a professional context does, however,
contain a large number of established phrases and
formulas that are tailored not only to be respectful
and professional but also to be efficient and clear.
Take email correspondence, for example. In English,
professional email standards consists of many formulas
to convey common ideas, including: “find attached,”“find
enclosed,” “We look forward to…,” “Please contact…,”
“who I’ve cc’d on this email,” “excuse the delay,”
“Sincerely,” “Best wishes,” “Best regards” and many more.
Each language has similar phrases to complete these
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functions. As you correspond in your second language,
you can save the emails you receive from native speakers
in a folder to reference their choice of phrasing. Later,
if you want, you can compile this correspondence
into a list a common phrases and formulas to
emulate in your professional correspondence. If you
have the chance, write a few email templates for
yourself and ask a native speaker to look them over.
Other forms of communication, such as phone
etiquette and professional presentations, may
present similarly structured registers of speech.
Try to take the opportunity to listen in on a few of
those interactions before beginning yourself, or, if
you don’t have the chance to do so, ask your native
speaking colleagues for pointers and feedback.
Tip # 6
18
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Informal
Registers in
Your Second
Language
Translation Excellence, Inc.
Phone: 720.325.0459 Toll-free: 877.409.6737
www.translationexcellence.com [email protected]
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19
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Because many foreign language courses focus
on the standardized, correct form of the language,
you may find that learning informal registers is more
of an immediate challenge to you. Just as with formal
language, there exists a huge variety of nuance within
informal speech and writing regardless of language.
Here the intersection of social class, age, and
context make variants of speech all the more specific
to the individual. While informal registers may be
associated with generational differences, as younger
groups tend to be on the forefront of linguistic change,
within any age bracket, there exist different modes of
speech for friends and for family. While a grandparent
won’t use the same informal expressions as their slangoriented grandchild, they will still adapt themselves
from speaking in the office to speaking with family.
While the range of complexities may at first be
overwhelming, ultimately you have the opportunity
to shape your own mode of expression. Your personal
expression in your native language is as much a result of
your influences as it is of your own choices. In your second
language, the words you learn to employ are entirely up
to you. From vulgarities to pet names, keep your ears
open to possible forms of expression and don’t forget
to be cautious of definitions before you employ phrases.
A word to the wise: even commonly employed
expletives or expressions can have highly charged
roots. Although the meaning in day-to-day use may
be watered down, it always pays to look up the literal
meaning of an exclamation before you use it to ensure
that you’re not insinuating anything you don’t mean to.
Slang
Slang is a variant within a range of casual
registers, and it is a constantly changing lexicon that
is frequently employed in social situations. Due to
its devalued status and its ephemeral nature, slang
is the most difficult area in a foreign language to
learn. Because slang is often integrated with vulgar
expressions, misuse can easily result in a misstep,
and its best to thoroughly learn slang expressions
before employing them as a non-native speaker.
If you need to look up a slang expression, online
references exists, although many are user driven and
lack credibility, similar to the English Urban Dictionary.
These websites are most useful when used to define
a word or phrase you don’t understand. When used
to browse or look up new slang terms, they often
provide uncommonly used or problematic results.
Arabic http://en.mo3jam.com/
Belgian Dutch www.vlaamswoordenboek.be
Dutch http://www.straatwoordenboek.nl/
Finnish Urbaani Sanakirja
German http://www.mundmische.de/ and http://
www.sprachnudel.de/
Hungarian http://nepszotar.com/ and http://
hogymondom.hu/
Icelandic http://slangur.snara.is/
Indian English http://hogymondom.hu/
Korean http://kin.naver.com/openkr/list.nhn and https://mir.pe/wiki/FrontPage
Polish miejski.pl
Portuguese Dicionario Informal
Spanish http://www.asihablamos.com/ and http://
www.tubabel.com/
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Tip # 7
20
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
Conclusion
Translation Excellence, Inc.
Phone: 720.325.0459 Toll-free: 877.409.6737
www.translationexcellence.com [email protected]
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21
Learning to Navigate Formality in YOUR Second Language
While mastering and correctly employing varying
linguistics registers is highly individual to the language
and culture in question, it is also a skill that can be learned
like any other. With a basic knowledge of how languages
across the globe denote respect or intimacy according
to social context, it becomes possible to approach the
subject within any language. It is our hope that you can
use this knowledge not only to integrate yourself into
the global business world, but also to better understand
international people with whom you may work. With an
understanding of the honorific norms they use in their
native language, you can both better understand their
overtures of friendship and professional collaboration
and better appreciate the efforts they make to adapt
themselves to English’s own complex system of registers.
Linguist/project manager communication is
helpful because it ensures the project runs smoothly. It
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may be problematic only if the level of communication
interferes with the translator’s ability to successfully
complete the project by the indicated deadline or if
the project manager is unable to fully attend to his or
her other agency responsibilities, client requests, etc.
The ability to linguistically adapt according to your
social context is an integral part of the language learning
process, and a difficult step to master. In your efforts to
navigate foreign language registers, you’ll show your
host culture not only the personal respect that you wish
to convey, but also demonstrate your commitment to
understanding their language and customs. As the
continually globalizing world increasingly connects us,
your ability not only as a bilingual speaker but also as a
bicultural and adaptable worker will allow you to act as
a guide and a diplomat to cross-cultural collaboration.