SPEECH STYLES

• Every person has his or her own way to

express his or her meaning through a
language. It expresses differently for each
person. This kind of language variation

can be called as a style .

 STYLE
• is a variation of language which is used by the
speakers based on the situation
• is usually understood to mean the way in which a
writer employs his words, phrases, and sentences to
achieve his desired effect
• is the manner of expressing whatever is expressed.
It involves choice between possible alternatives; and
the wider a person’s awareness of what the
alternatives are, the greater the chance that he will
choose the best one to communicate his ideas
 SPEECH STYLES
Speech styles are patterns of speaking
characterized by distinctive pronunciation,
vocabulary, intent, participants, and
grammatical structures.

According to Martin Joos, speech style

means the form of language that the
speaker uses which characterized by the
degree of formality. Martin Joos claimed the
existence of five (5) kinds/types of styles.
 According to Martin Joos

It is common for humans in a communicative

situation to easily move from one style to the
one next to it, but not to the one not near to
it.

It is also possible to make use of two styles

at the same time when engaging in artful
speech such as preaching.
 A speaker might have more than one style,
because he or she can change style based on the
situation or to whom the utterances are addressed
to.
For example, when we talk to younger
people, it will be different when we talk to the older
ones. The language or the style is more casual if it
is addressed to the younger people, while if it is
addressed to the older people, the language will
be more formal by using polite ones.
TYPES OF SPEECH STYLES

1.Frozen style
2.Formal style
3.Consultative style
4.Intimate style
5.Casual style
 1. FROZEN STYLE
• It is a style used commonly for prose
writing or for speech. It allows a reader to
find many meanings for oneself. The
characteristic of this style usually is the
use of formal and polite language to show
the identity of a speaker and to make a
prose easier to understand for readers.
 FROZEN STYLE
According to Joos, frozen style is a style, which is intended
to be remembered and used in very formal setting such as
in palace, church ritual, speech for state ceremony, and
some other occasions. This style involves very large group
of people whose members are known to one another.
However, this style is not only addressed to strangers at
that time but also to posterity as well. Nevertheless, the
reader or the hearers are not permitted giving question to
the speakers. This is usually uses long sentence with good
grammatical and vocabulary. For example: “I should be
glad to be informed of the correct time.”
 FROZEN STYLE (Examples)
a. Expressing our gratitude must
be delivered just for Allah, God,
Lord due of His favor and
charity.

b. On this occasion I desire to

preach on the title …..
 2. FORMAL STYLE
Formal style can be defined as a style which
is used in formal situation and uses formal
language. Formal style is used by people
who still have a distance between them
(speaker and hearer). A speaker usually
avoids a repetition or another term which
tends to be a casual term and used in a
discussion or a meeting.
 FORMAL STYLE
According to Joos, formal style is generally used in formal
situation, where there is the least amount of shared background
and the communication in this style is largely one way with little
or no feedback from the audience, for example, in graduation
ceremony which typically used in speaking to medium or large
groups. However, it may also use in speaking to single hearer,
for example, between strangers. In fact, formal style is designed
to inform and the background information is woven into text in
complex sentences. Indeed, the sentence structures are more
complex and varied than consultative. That is why the speaker
must ahead and frame whole sentences before they delivered.
Furthermore, the leading code-label of this style is “may”. For
example, “May I present Mr. Jimmy?”
 FORMAL STYLE (Examples)

a. Mrs. William, would you like to have a

sit first before you deliver your speech?
b. If Mr. Kevin would be so kind ask to let
me finish my words.
c. Well, it is rather difficult to say at this
point.
d. I would like to introduce myself to you.
e. You may speak now.
 3. CONSULTATIVE STYLE

Consultative style is a style used in

semi-formal communication. It is a
conversational style in which the
speaker constantly observes the
listener’s verbal and non-verbal cues
for feedback as to whether the speaker
seems to be giving too little or too
much information.
 CONSULTATIVE STYLE
Consultative style is that shown our norm for coming to term with
strangers who speak our language but whose personal stock of
information may be different. Consultative style happens in two-
way participation. It is the most operational among the other
styles. It is used in negotiating with the strangers or work
colleagues. It is also used in small group discussion, regular
conversation at school, companies, trade conversation and etc.
The speaker has to deliver background information about a
topic, and it does not presume to be understood without it. The
addressee usually participates by giving feedback like ”oh”, “uh-
uh”, “okay”, “ I see”, “Yes”. Interruptions are allowed, if the
speaker gives too much information, the feedback might give
like “I know, Stop it”. There are some examples of consultative
style, such as conversation between teacher- Students, doctor-
patient and the expert-apprentice.
 CONSULTATIVE STYLE (Examples)
a. Excuse me, I think it’s really
important for me to add about the
topic that we discuss.
b. Actually, we have the same views
about this problem. So, why don’t
you joint with us?
c. I see. You will change the project
and sale it to other companies, right?
 4. CASUAL STYLE
Casual style is a style used in informal
(casual) situation and using informal
language. The relationship between speaker
and hearer is close, so they usually use
words or term repetition and frequently use
ellipse sentences. It happens in
conversations between parents to their
children, friends, family members, etc. In the
other words, casual style occurs in casual
conversation.
 There are two devices of casual style:
First, ellipsis (omission) that usually shows the differences
between casual grammar and consultative grammar for
example: • “ I believe that I can find one ” (Consultative
grammar) “ Believe I can find one “ ( Casual grammar)
“ Thank you “ (Consultative grammar) “ Thanks ” ( Casual
grammar)

The unstressed word can be omitted particularly at the

beginning of the sentence.
Examples: “meet at the mall”, “bought it yesterday”
As the result, the sentence structure of casual style
becomes incomplete.
Second device of casual style is slang which
is a prime indication of in group relationship.
Slang (words commonly used in the street)
is non-standard word which is known and
used by certain groups like teenager groups,
for example, in formal language, young
female called “girl”, while in the slang
language it is said as chick.
 Casual style
A person speaking in casual style does not
need to be careful about pronunciation, grammar
or choice of words as much as a person speaking
in consultative style because the casual speaker
assumes that his or her friends are used to the
speaker’s way of speaking.
Although casual style is used in transmitting
information, it is more closely connected to social
interaction as a function of communication,
deepening friendships.
 Casual Style (Examples)

(i) Do you enjoy the party? (a) Enjoy it?

(ii) Would you take it? (b) Take it…
(iii) Would you give me some money?
(c) Give me some …
(iv) It wasn’t me who stole your car. (d) Not me …
(v) Do you want to come?
(e) Want to come / Wanna come?
The examples ( a, b, c, d, e ) above are commonly
used by speakers in informal situation.
 5. INTIMATE STYLE
It is used between people who have very close
relationships such as family members, best friends, and
couples. They share a lot of experiences and have a lot
of experiential knowledge in common. Intimate style
brings two already close people much closer to each
other. They don’t care about grammar or pronunciation.
They may give meaning to certain words that only they
know. They do not plan or monitor their speech and may
in fact employ a lot of sentence fragments and broken
speech such as a spouse saying, “cold” when talking
about coffee prepared by the partner.
 INTIMATE STYLE
Intimate style is completely private language used within
family and very close friends. Normally, the intimate
style is used in pair. It excludes public information and
shows a very close relationship.
It occurs in the certain community which has its own
language style. The utterances are usually simple and
representative what a speaker means. Intonation is
more important than wording or grammar.
Examples: a. Tea’s cold => Cold
b. Jesus Christ! => Oh my God!
c. Damn hot => Hot
 There are two systematic features of
intimate style:

First is extraction, the speaker extracts a

minimum pattern from some conceivable casual
sentence, for example the utterance “eng”, it is
empty word; there is no dictionary meaning but
serves as a code label for intimate style. Intimate
style needs no slang and no background
information. The message cannot be recreated
because there is no message to recreate. It means
that, the thought is communicated and the
addressee extracts the full meaning from it.
 The second style is jargon. Jargon is technical
vocabulary associated with special activity or group.
Jargon is used to show the secret language
between the same profession people. In the other
word, jargon must not be understood by other
people, for example health professionals use
medical jargon such as HTLV III (Human T-cell
Leukimia Virus III).
 (Speech Styles) Summary:
FROZEN STYLE – a speech style used to
focus on the text itself
FORMAL STYLE – a speech style used to
convey information in formal settings
CONSULTATIVE STYLE – a speech style
used to convey information informally
CASUAL STYLE – a speech style used to
form and maintain friendships
INTIMATE STYLE – a speech style used
between two very close persons