Functional Styles of Speech in Greater Detail

Functional Styles of Speech in Greater Detail The Colloquial Style This is the style of informal, friendly oral communication. The vocabulary of colloquial style is usually lower than that of the formal or neutral styles, it is often emotionally coloured and characterized by connotations (cf. the endearing connotation in the words daddy, kid or the evaluating components in 'trash', etc. in the examples of connotations above). Colloquial speech is characterized by the frequent use of words with a broad meaning : speakers tend to use a small group of words in quite different meanings, whereas in a formal style (official, business, scientific) every word is to be used in a specific and clear meaning. Compare the different uses of the verb "get", which frequently replaces in oral colloquial speech its more specific synonyms: / got (= received) a letter today; Wliere did you get (= buy) those shoes?; We don'tget (= have) much rain here in summer, I got (= caught) flu' last month; We got (= took) the six-o 'clock train from London; I got into (=entered) the house easily; Where has my pen got to (= disappeared) ?; We got (= arrived) home late; Get (=put) your hat on!; I can 'tget (=fit) into my old jeans; Get (= throw) the cat out of the house.'; I'll get ( = punish) you, just you wait.'; We got (= passed) through the customs without any checking; I've got up to (= reached) the last chapter of the book; I 'II get (=fetch) the children from school; ft's getting (= becoming) dark; He got (= was) robbed in the street at night; I got (= caused) him to help me with the work; I got the radio working at last( = brought it to the state of working); Will you get (= give, bring) the children their supper tonight?; Ididn 'tget( = hear) what you said; You got (= understood) my answer wrong; I wanted to speak to the director, but only got (= managed to speak) to his secretary; Will you get (= answer) the phone?; Can you get (= tune in) to London on your radio ? There are phrases and constructions typical of colloquial type: What's up?(= What has happened); so-so (=not especially good); nothing much/nothing to write home about (= nothing of importance); How are you doing? (= How are things with you?); Sorry? Pardon ?( = Please, repeat, Ididn't hear you); Not to worry! (= there is nothing to worry about); No problem!(= This can easily be done); See you ( = Good-bye); Me too/neither (= So/neither do I), etc. In grammar there may be: a) the use of shortened variants of word-forms, e.g. isn't, can't; there's ; I'd say ; he'd 've done ( = would have done); Yaa ( = Yes); b) the use of elliptical (incomplete) sentences — / did; (Where's he?) — At home; Like it? (= Do you/Did you like it?) — Not too much (= I don 't like it 14 too much); (Shall I open it'?) — Don 't.'; May I?(= May I ask a question/do this?). The syntax of colloquial speech is also characterized by the preferable use of simple sentences or by asyndetic connection (= absence of conjunctions, бессоюзная связь) between the parts of composite sentences or between separate sentences. Complex constructions with non-finite forms are rarely used. Note the neutral style in the following extract: When I saw him there, I asked him, 'Where are you going?', but he started running away from me. I followed him. When he turned round the corner, I also turned round it after him, but then noticed that he was not there. I could not imagine where he was... and the possible more colloquial version of the same: / saw him there, I say 'Where'ye going?' He runs off, 1 run after him. He turns the comer, me too. He isn 't there. Where's he now?/can't think.... (note also the rather frequent change from the Past tense to the Present, in addition to the absence of conjunctions or other syntactic means of connection).