What is Language?

• Language, a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written

symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social
group and participants in its culture, express themselves. The functions of
language include communication, the expression of identity, play,
imaginative expression, and emotional release.
 Types of Language:

• *Formal- A formal language is often defined by means of a formal

grammar such as a regular grammar or context-free grammar, which
consists of its formation rules
• *Informal-more casual and spontaneous. It is used when communicating
with friends or family either in writing or in conversation.
Six Characteristics of Effective Language
• 1. Concrete and Specific- A concrete message is tangible, supported by
facts for enhanced credibility, and helps your audience better understand
what’s being conveyed. It also mitigates the risk of misunderstanding, a
common struggle in the workplace.
• Example:
• The deadline has been moved forward.
• The deadline has been moved from this Friday to next Friday because the
client needs more time.
Six Characteristics of Effective Language
• 2. Concise- Being concise helps the receiver focus on what’s essential, speeds up
information processing, and ensures improved understanding. Get straight to the point:
Avoid wordiness, empty phrases, and redundancies.

• Example:
• We are endeavoring to construct a meticulous proposal to amplify sales.
• We’re creating a plan to increase sales. (his version is direct and efficient.)
Six Characteristics of Effective Language
• 3. Familiar language is that which the readers easily recognize and understand because they use
it on a regular basis. One of the most important functions of language is to build "homophily" or
a sense of commonality with one's readers.

Consider the following examples.

An assignment given to a class of business students by their philosophy professor:

• "The presently assigned paper necessitates an eloquently articulated analysis of the Existentialist
perspective as it pertains to contemporary living. You should adumbrate the points which
represent the sine qua non of your analysis."
Six Characteristics of Effective Language
• 4. Precise and clear- choosing the most appropriate, most specific word so that your
message is clear and there is less of a chance that your reader will misunderstand you.
Example:
Unclear and imprecise language:
The project is almost done, but there are a few things that need to be fixed.

Clear and precise language:

The project is 90% complete, but we still need to address three specific issues before it can be
considered finished.
Six Characteristics of Effective Language
• 5. Constructive language phrases a potentially negative message in a positive way,
whereas destructive language directs blame and criticism toward the reader, creating
defensiveness. Readers are likely to become defensive when the writer's language
expresses any or all of the following:
•  Superiority over the reader
•  Indifference or apathy about an issue of importance to the reader
•  Negative evaluation or judgment of the reader (as opposed to neutral
descriptions or observations)
•  Command or control over the reader
Six Characteristics of Effective Language
• Consider the following examples.
• (1) Boss to employee: "Your job performance recently has been
unacceptable and there are no excuses for it. You have claimed that you
are having some serious personal problems, but even if this is true, you
cannot allow it to affect the quality of your work. If your work doesn't
improve, I'll have to replace you with someone else."
Six Characteristics of Effective Language
• (2) Instructor to student: "I have never had a student who was so confused
with this material. Perhaps you should take an easier course from an easier
professor. It makes no difference to me."
Six Characteristics of Effective Language
• 6. Formal language is characterized by the use of standard English, more complex sentence
structures, infrequent use of personal pronouns, and lack of colloquial or slang terms.
• Examples:
• “Dear” at the start of formal letters and emails.
• “Sincerely” at the end of formal letters and emails.
• “We regret to inform you” instead of “sorry” in rejection letters.
• “In spite of the fact” instead of “even though” in academic writing.
• “I’d appreciate it if you could…” when making a request in business situations.
• “At your earliest convenience” instead of “as soon as possible” in professional emails.
 Language Mechanics
• incorporate the proper use of spelling, capitalization, punctuation,
grammar, and other factors deemed necessary for high-quality captioned
media.
• *Spelling and Capitalization

In written language, spelling is the correct arrangement of letters that

form words while Capitalization is the practice of using capital letters in
writing or printing. Proper nouns, key words in titles, and beginnings
of sentences are generally capitalized
• *Punctuation and Grammar

Punctuation is the set of marks used to regulate texts and clarify their
meanings, mainly by separating or linking words, phrases, and clauses while
Grammar is a system of rules that allow us to structure sentences
• Commas- used to separate parts of sentences. Use a comma to separate
elements of a list, distinguish groups of words that go together, mark
conjunctions between complete thoughts, and more.
• Example: Julie loves ice cream, books, and kittens.
• Hyphens
A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark that’s used to join words or parts of
words.
Example:
a dog-friendly hotel
closed-door meetings
a book-loving student
Dash
A dash is longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or
a pause.
Example:
I opened the door, and there she stood—my long lost sister.
Wait! I forgot to tell you
• Ellipses is a punctuation mark of three dots (. . .) that shows an omission
of words, represents a pause, or suggests there’s something left unsaid.

Example: to be continued . . .
Would you like sugar for your coffee, or . . .
Quotation Marks- a type of punctuation used for setting words and passages
apart from the rest of the text. Quotation marks, or “quotes” for short, look just
like commas, except quotation marks are at the top of a line instead of at the
bottom.
Example:

“Where is the emergency room?” he asked the nurse urgently.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can’t escape his origins as a wrestler.
• Spacing is the amount of vertical space between lines of text in a
document.
Italics is a style of typeface in which the text appears slanted, like this.
While italics are mainly used to draw attention to certain words or passages,
the font also plays an important role in differentiating the titles and names of
things—such as novels, movies, and even spaceships—from other text.
Example:
• She preferred TikTok because it made her laugh more than Instagram.
• Felis catus is commonly known as the house cat.