ShmoopTube

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[Coop and Dino singing]

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Believe it or not, you’re constantly making decisions about the language you use. [Man thinking about language]

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Whether you're with friends, family, an employer, or even babies, the way you speak changes

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depending on your surroundings.

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And it should, right? [Girl using laptop to speak to her Grandma]

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Because your grandma has no idea what it means when you comment on her picture, "YAAAS queen!!!

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10/10 #slay".

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But she'll probably like it anyway.

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Anyway, the decisions you make about language often come down to two choices: [Dino and Coop holding informal and formal signs]

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formal or informal.

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In short, informal English is the sort of language you and your friends might use during [Boy and girl playing catch in a park]

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recess…

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While formal English is the sort of English you might use during recess…with your pal,

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the Queen of England…

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But what do these two types of English really describe?

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Well, let's begin with formal. [Dino discussing formal English]

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Formal English is exactly what it sounds like – formal.

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No jokes, no slang, no weird punctuation or short-hand, no hashtags….

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nothing like that.

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Formal English is all about complete sentences with correct structure and tone.

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So let’s say you were at your grandma’s house for dinner. [Boy having dinner with Grandma]

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You probably wouldn’t say to her, “Yo granny, dope casserole, y'heard?”

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Since she’s your sweet grandma and you respect her, you might want to say something like,

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“Grandma, I enjoyed that exquisite bean casserole, you'll have to give me your recipe.”

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Now that's formal English.

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And so polite!

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Informal English, on the other hand, is more conversational. [Coop talking about informal language]

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It's less neat and tidy.

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It can be fun, casual, and even a little bit, well, grammatically incorrect.

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It's for when you're just speaking to friends and family with no concern about sounding

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super-duper serious.

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If you're kicking back with your best buddies and you want to suggest you all order a pizza, [Guy friends playing video games]

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you might sound a little weird if you say “Dearest sirs, wouldst thou be interested

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in procuring a deliverable pizza-pie?”

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Sometimes, being ultra-formal can be, well, ultra-weird. [Two friends move away from friend wearing a monocle and tophat]

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In a setting like this, you're probably going to go with something a whole lot more informal,

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like, “Any of you dudes wanna go in on some 'za?”[Man asking friends for pizza]

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Okay, so you sound a little bit like a '70s surfer, but at least you’re keeping it casual.

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So when you're, say, giving a speech to tell people something important, what kind of English [Girl thinking about what type of english to use in a speech]

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do you think you should be using?

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That's right!

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Formal.

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Formal English sets the tone for being serious and let's people know that they should listen

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carefully.

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When you're there to teach, to inform, to lecture and to explain: formal English is [Coop discussing when to use formal English]

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your friend, your chum, and your acquaintance.

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And informal English is your pal, bud, or your bro.

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