Communicative Styles

• Communicative style

  • a particular style of speaking when a person interacts with others
  • also indicates the level of formality with which a person speaks
• American linguist Martin Joos (The Five Clocks) identified five types of speech style:

  • Intimate
  • Casual
  • Consultative
  • Formal
  • Frozen
• INTIMATE

  • This communication is private.
  • It is reserved for close family members, or intimate people.
  • Examples: husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, siblings, and parent & children
• The following are some other features of an intimate speech style:

  1. Conversations are usually done in private.
  2. Participants usually use short, incomplete utterances.
  3. Grammar and proper word choice are not given importance.
  4. Nonverbal cues are often used to convey messages.
  5. Participants share inside jokes.
  6. Words that signal intimacy, such as terms of endearment (e.g., sweetheart, dear, honey) are used.
• CASUAL

  • This is an informal language used by peers and friends.
  • Slang, vulgarities and colloquialisms are normal.
  • This is "group language".
  • One must be a member to engage in this register.
  • Examples: buddies, chats and emails, blogs, letters to friends
• Other characteristics of this speech style include the following:

  1. The tone is conversational. Slang (or nonstandard words or expressions), colloquial words, elliptical sentences (some words are omitted), and informal contractions (e.g., ain't, dunno, gonna) are used.
  2. General words rather than technical ones are used.
  3. Interruptions are common.
  4. Nicknames are used in addressing one another.
• CONSULTATIVE

  • It is formal and societal expectations accompany the users of this speech.
  • It is a professional discourse.
  • Examples: communication between a supporter and a subordinate, doctor and patient, lawyer and client, lawyer and his client.
• Consultative speech

  1. It is used in ordinary or routine transactions that lead to an outcome
  2. This is often used in business or other professional situations, such as in conversations between a doctor and a patient.
  3. Interruptions are allowed. The listener gives short responses like I see to signal that he or she is paying attention to the speaker
  4. Titles such as Mr., Ms., or Doctor are likely to be used when using this speech style.
  5. More formal than intimate and casual styles, this style requires a speaker to choose words with some care, but the flow of conversation is still instantaneous.
• FORMAL

  • This language is used in formal settings and is one-way in nature.
  • This use of language usually follows a commonly accepted format.
  • It is usually impersonal and formal.
  • Examples: sermons, rhetorical statements and questions, speeches, pronouncements made by judges, announcements
• The following are the other characteristics of formal speech style:

  1. Interruptions are not allowed. Only the speaker is the source of information.
  2. Pronunciation is very clear.
  3. Words are carefully chosen, and grammar rules are followed.
  4. Sentence structures are more complex and varied.
  5. Extensive and technical vocabulary is required.
  6. Ideas are cohesive and organized.
  7. All background or necessary information is clearly given.
• FROZEN

  • This style of communication rarely or never changes. It is "frozen" in time and content.
  • Example: the Pledge of Allegiance, the Lord’s Prayer, the Preamble of the Constitution, the Alma Mater, a bibliographic reference, laws
• Here are other characteristics of this style:

  1. It uses “frozen” language, where statements are learned by rote. Examples are the Lord’s Prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the national anthem.
  2. It has a symbolic or historical nature.
  3. It is typically prescribed by law, custom, or ritual.
  4. It involves certain fixed or stock expressions that are rarely or never altered or changed
• Factors to Consider in Choosing a Speech Style

  1. Audience 
  2. Topic 
  3. Purpose 
  4. Location 
• Audience 

  • Who are you speaking with? What is your relationship with him, her, or them?
  • Examples: classmates, friends, mother, priest, principal
• Topic

  What is the subject of the conversation or the communication situation? Is it a serious topic or a light-hearted one?
• Purpose


  What is the objective of the communication? What do you and the other participants in the conversation aim to achieve?
• Location


  Where is the communication being held? What is the environment like?
• Identify the factor for communicative styles

  1. What is the subject of the conversation or the communication situation? (Topic)
  2. The judges of a poetry competition (Audience)
  3. The negative impact of corporal punishment on children (Topic)
  4. What do you and the other participants in the conversation aim to achieve? (Purpose)
  5. Where is the communication being held? (Location)
• Identify the factor for communicative styles

  1. Who are you speaking with? (Audience)
  2. At an academic conference (Where)
  3. What is the objective of the communication? (Purpose)
  4. To collect and analyze data on the views of millennials and Gen-Zers on climate change (Purpose)
  5. Is the subject serious or light-hearted? (Topic)
• Identify the type of communicative style appropriate for the following situations. 

  1. reciting DepEd Vision (Frozen)
  2. reading school policies (Frozen)
  3. talking to a new friend (Casual)
  4. inquiring at the library (Consultative)
  5. delivering news reports (Formal)
  6. asking something from your neighbor (Casual)
  7. talking to your groupmates (Casual)
  8. delivering a valedictory address (Formal)
  9. talking and laughing about memorable experiences (Intimate)
  10. sending an inquiry to your teacher through messenger (Consultative)
• speech style


  indicates the level of formality with which a person speaks.
• Types of Speech Style

  A) Casual Speech Style

  B) Intimate Speech Style

  C) Consultational Speech Style

  D) Formal Speech Style

  E) Frozen Speech Style