Features Of Spoken Informal Texts

Prosodic Features

Pitch, Stress, Intonation, Volume, Tempo

Pitch

Low pitch - negative connotation/serious topics (e.g. taboo)

High pitch - Excitement, passion vigour

Stress

Shows extra emphasis upon something

Intonation

Formal: Slower speech, polished tone (more polite and relaxed) - for formal contexts, and serious matters (pitch falls towards end)

Informal: Faster speech (blended words), and pitch may rise at end (more friendly and engaging)

Volume

(Informal) Increased volume is used to interrupt people or take hold of the floor

Draws attention, expresses emotion (contempt, disappointment, surprise, politeness, uncertainty)

Pitch changes can also result in irony or sarcasm

Tempo

How fast speech is

Fast (Allegro) - Nervousness, excitability, anxiety

Slow (Lente) - Serious matter, composed or uncertian

e.g. “I am uh..not sure this is right”

Connected Speech Processes

Elision, Assimilation, Vowel Reduction, Insertion

Non Verbal Cues

Laughter (Sarcasm, friendliness, awkwardness), Sighing (boredom, relief), Ah/Uh/Um (Uncertainty, Hesitation and thinking), Throat Clearing (Gaining attention) - there are many more

Hedging

Using less definitive words/phrases to express uncertainty

Makes your point less absolute, and shows politeness

e.g. “I dunno”, “I think”, “Could be”, “Maybe”

Colloquialisms

Any usage of informal, inclusive language

Ellipses

Getting rid of words

e.g. “I want to eat out…and watch a movie…and play with my friends”

Omission of “I” every time - not a formal sentence - multiple fragments placed together

To avoid unnecessary repetition - create an engaging text

Syntactic Complexity

Use of interrogative tags, use of intensifiers, frequent use of simple sentences, sentence initial conjunctions, exclamatives

Interrogative Tags

Having a sentence (typically declarative) and placing a question word at the end

e.g. “You’re having fun, right?”

Frequent Use Of Simple Sentences

Indicates informality - less proper syntax

Sentence Initial Conjunction

Using coordinators (FANBOYS) as a starting word for a sentence (non-standard sentence)

e.g. “And what are you doing today?”

Not subordinators

Exclamatives (Sentence types)

Very expressive and convey high level of emotion

Non Fluency Features

Pause Fillers and Overlaps, Minimal responses, repetition, hesitation, self-correction, false starts