In Silas Marner, there is a clear difference in style between the language of the narrative and the locals' dialogue but sometimes it is not so easy to understand if a word is formal or informal, commonly used or not. It is not a question of being understood or not, it's about using an appropriate register, whether you are spaeking with friends or in a business meeting.
Here are my guidelines 1. Start with a most common word lists to get an idea. http://www.talkenglish.com/vocabulary/top-2000-vocabulary.aspx The top hundred represent something like half of all words used. A native English speaking person knows between 10,000 to 20,000 words. You need to know 8,000-9,000 words to enjoy reading a book but 2,000 are enough to start. 2. Use a learners' dictionary like the Longman's Dictonary of Contemporary English or the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. The Longman's prints the 3000 most common English words in red in this dictionary. The Oxford uses abbreviation such as fml (formal) to indicate if a word is formal, or distinctly informal such as as slang. Other categories or 'usage labels' are obsolete, archaic, informal, colloquial, dialectal, non-standard, etc. 3. Latinate words are often more formal, Germanic equivalents are informal. English is a Germanic language so the oldest words of this origin have the most familiar sound to natives. These words are generally short, in fact particulary in spoken English we still prefer very short words of maximum 4 or 5 letters. In Roman times, Latin was the written and spoken language of the law and in fact we still use Latin terms in law today. At the same time, through intermarriage with locals colloquial Latin terms also entered the language. The same thing happened with the Normans, adding many French words from the military, the law and every day life. So speakers of Latinate languages must beware that a word that sounds more familiar to them may be unnatural or formal to the English ear, for example when they use commence rather than begin. 4. Does it have a very precise meaning? Informal words are often vague- words like nice, things, good, bad can have many different shades of meaning according to the context. A word like delicious specifically means good in terms of taste. Remember that informal Language is used mainly in speaking while formal Language is used in wiriting. When writing you have more time to think about how you express yourself and so can choose words more carefully and precisely. 5 Look at the context. If it is a word in an Academic paper it is probably formal or neutral. The formal register is for professional settings, like classrooms, the workplace, and interviews. Place isn’t the only determinant of register: factors like how long the people have known each other, their previous relationship, if any, and their purpose in speaking to each other affect how formal or informal the speech will be. Can you rewrite these sentences in a formal style? a) Man, I’m starving! I’m gonna get something to eat and then call you back. b) We gotta get this done before we can go anywhere. c) Lemme know if you need a hand with that. d) You’re wrong! I paid twenty-five bucks for that! Can you rewrite these sentences in an informal style? e) I would prefer that you turn down the volume on your television. f) According to an eye witness, the event occurred at approximately 3:00 in the afternoon. g) The project is to be completed by the end of the week. h) Would you be available to attend the gathering tomorrow? Invent your own sentences and post them in the comments for others to translate. Think of your recent conversations, emails, and text messages for ideas.
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What is this?When I started lostinclassics I looked for language lessons in the books I was reading, such as for example the use of phrasal verbs or inversion in conditionals and I explained them through examples found in the text. I also did reviews of the books I read and tried to give some advice on how to read classics using the various resources I know of. Then I switched to just reviews and lately I have been doing a bit of creative writing inspired by my reading. Who knows what I will come up with next! Archives
September 2020
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