PRE: Lesson - Formal vs. Informal
Formal vs. Informal
Almost every language has ways of indicating whether you are talking to a peer or to an authority figure. We call this register and in general, we talk about two registers: formal and informal. English does not have any specific forms that indicate that someone is speaking in a formal register. Instead, we use tone and honorifics (titles) to indicate our formality. Compare:
- Hey, dude! How ya been?
- Excuse me, ma'am. Do you have the time?
Which one of those phrases would you use with a friend? The first one, right? But that second phrase is something you would reserve for an adult or a stranger.
Unlike English, Spanish uses specific forms to mark the formal register. This appears in the second person pronouns, where there are two forms of the pronoun "you" - the informal tu/vos and the formal usted/ustedes.
Continue to take notes as you learn about the differences between formal and informal registers in Spanish.
Video Lesson
The following video will show you information on when and how to use the formal register in Spanish. The video lesson is followed by a practice activity.
Watch this video to learn more about formal vs. informal in Spanish. Feel free to press pause and repeat and take notes.
SPECIAL NOTE: the speaker in this video uses a regional pronunciation of the Spanish LL sound. In our previous lesson, we learned that LL makes a y sound in Spanish: me llamo = me yamo. However, in some regional dialects of Spanish, the LL sound makes a sound closer to the English J sound: me llamo = me jamo. The narrator in the following video uses this alternate pronunciation. For our course, you are expected to use the standard y pronunciation for LL.
Video provided courtesy of mobileapps@innovativelanguage.com. Also note: any in-video links are disabled.
Review
Look back up at the picture at the top of the page. This appears to be a business setting. If you were listening to the conversation between the two people in the picture, what register do you think you would hear? Hopefully, you agree with me that you should be hearing a formal register, and so would likely hear the pronoun usted being used.
Let's review the lessons covered in the video. Along with learning to write each phrase, take time to practice reading them out loud. This is a great place to practice your new pronunciation skills! Also, if you have a friend who is also taking/knows Spanish nearby, practice using these conversational phrases with each other. Certain phrases are marked in bold - please pay careful attention to these words and phrases!
| Pronouns | Example Phrases | Formal Titles |
|---|---|---|
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Practice Activity
Let´s practice what you just learned. Complete the following activity. Look at your notes and practice as many times as you need!
Complete the following practice activity. Don’t forget to add acentos when required.
NOTE: You are required to use information from this course to complete all practice activities. Additionally, fill-in-the-blank activities can be very particular: if an item is marked incorrect, double check that it wasn't something as minor as an extra space or a capital letter in the wrong place!
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