Choices of Language in Expressing In/Formality in Letters Paval Laura, 1st Year Student, MA, LEPC Contents 1.

Defining concepts 2. Characteristics of in/formal letter 2.1 The organization of a letter 3. Case study 3.1. The formal letter 3.2 The informal letter 4. Conclusion 5. Bibliography 1. What do choices of language imply? The act of choosing needs first of all a context created by the sender of a mes sage. The act is done linguistically mainly, but it can also be non-linguistically thr ough attitude, gestures, or visual contact. Dis-course implies choices of language because "discourse means to communicate , by choosing the right words, with a certain intention"-to persuade, for instanc e, which is in fact the main purpose of a discourse. Choices of language is also related to knowledge(of language, of grammar, of dif ferent cultures) as another basic key of expressing one's thoughts/arguments/imp ressions/conclusions. Choices of language= choosing a discourse= a context, participants, action, rule s or principles. How can we define formality and informality? What is the difference between them ? According to different theorists and dictionaries, formality is generally relate d to the cognitive aspect. This type of discourse refers to the administrative, technical, institutional, a cademic, scientific and political texts. Formal, lat. formalis = being in accordance with the usual requirements, customs and rules; -conventional, official; -marked by form or ceremony; -observant of conventional requirements of behaviour, procedure. Informality, instead, is characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary, casual or familiar use; -denoting the grammatical structures, vocabulary, and idiom suitable to everyday language and conversation rather than to official or formal contexts. Characteristics of in/formal letters Letters belong to the epistolary style. They can be both formal and informal and the difference between them is usually made by the type of language used, by th e choice of words and their lay-out in a text.

Letters may be addressed to a real or fictional person in which the writer is tr ying to express in a formal or familiar way his impressions, opinions, conclusio ns over a moral, literary, political issue. The main use of a letter is to convey a message, or to offer information and the y can be of many types, such as: Letters of: -acceptance -acknowledgement -adjustment -application -complaint -inquiry -reference -refusal -resignation Common phrases used in formal and informal letters

CASE STUDY " Manesty Clothes Ltd 15 Clifton Court England, UK

Tel:+44(0)161 932 2628 Fax:+44(0)161 932 2884 Email: enquires@manesty.co.uk

Production Manager Suntrek Fabrics Box 167 Brown Street PO Singapore 2nd January 2008

Dear Sir or Madam, Re: Visit to Singapore I am now planning my next trip to Southeast Asia, and would be very pleased if we could meet to discuss our production requirements for next year. I hope to be in Singapore on May3 or 4. Would it be convenient to visit you on M ay 3 at 10:30am? I would be grateful if you could tell me exactly where your off ices are located. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully Christine Burrows C. Burrows Senior Buyer" Analysis

This is an example of a formal letter, more precisely of a business letter. From a discursive point of view, the letter is an invitation to a meeting, the e mphasize being not so much on the sender or the receiver, but on the message of the text itself- discussing about the production requirements. The second paragraph is an invitation to respond. The formal style of the text is given, first of all, by the use of the objective or impersonal point of view. Expressions such as: "Dear Sir or Madam" "Would be very pleased" "I would be grateful" "I look forward to hearing from you" " Your faithfully" or data concerning the address, the telephone number, fax, email, they all creat e a formal type of addressing a person. The formal letter, besides being indirect, is also an informative text. Social distance is specific to this type of letters. Although the sender uses pe rsonal pronouns such as "I", "we", "you", the objective perspective is still mai ntained. "I" in this context is the person who makes the invitation, it stands f or the participant of a discussion who represents a company, and not for the "I" of a person, subjectively speaking. The sender expresses his intentions in the letter, but by asking a question, an indirect one, he allows the receiver "to take the floor". In his turn, the receiver should respond to his request in the same formal way a s the former, by giving a positive or a negative response. This situation offers a power relationship of the sender over the receiver, unti l the latter decides to reply to his invitation, and bring about the effects of the former s statement. Thus, the receiver is expected to cooperate and obey the rules of the discourse: to be brief, concise, informative and give relevant information. The Informal Letter 4th Feb 2008 Dear Jo, Just a quick word to thank you for a brilliant weekend. It was lovely to see you again and the kids really enjoyed going round London- hope we didn't ture you o ut too much! It would be great to see you up in Liverpool some time- it's ages since you've b een. We'll be celebrating Jim's fortieth (!) in September, and it would be great if you could come. Anyway, let me know nearer the time if you can make it. Take care, hope to see you soon Love, Clare" The informal/indirect speech is more related to the subjective/personal perspect

ive over a subject. The informal letter is a mode of interaction between two friends, in this case. The way of addressing , unlike the informal ones, show closeness: dear Jo , just a q uick word to thank you , it was lovely to see you again , it would be great , take care . It is very obvious that the two participants shared the same experience and mayb e, we assume, many others, too. The emphasis is on the experiences/events that took place in London. And the inv itation to Liverpool creates another context for the participants to share anoth er experience. The direct language used in this letter is more concise, sincere, relevant and c losed to interpretation, linguistically speaking, than the indirect speech, whic h allows us to infer over the meanings. Conclusion In other words, the choices of language in expressing in/formality in letters re side in the type of context and the participant s identity from a linguistic, soci al, and intellectual point of view. Bibliography Books Bonta, Elena, Lectures on Discourse Pragmatics, 2013 Brusaw, C. T., Alred, G. J., Oliu, W. E. (1997). Handbook of Technical Writing. (5th ed.). New York: St Martin's Press Inc. Dictionaries: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/informal?q=informal; http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/formal Cambridge Advanced Student s Dictionary, 3rd Edition, 2008