What is your opinion? Do we use the same form for both speaking and writing?
Certainly his answer was “no”. But after all, why does this happen?
As you know, we live in a society in which we exchange experiences with other people all the time, whether to teach or to learn from them. And this exchange of experiences is only allowed because we can use a very precious resource – language. When speaking, we use oral language, and for writing, written language.
But that's exactly where we need to know how to differentiate them, because while speaking, we take some attitudes that are not allowed at the time of writing. Shall we name a few?
Imagine talking to a friend... you use gestures, take a few breaks, provoke that suspense, and you can even use some “hour” slang, right? And in that Internet chat? I already know! You wanted to make the most of that moment and decided to cut short the words, didn't you? No problem, your friend will understand everything perfectly.
Reverse the situation, because at this point you will imagine that you need to write that essay that the teacher requested, or that you need to communicate with the principal of your school. It's time to put into practice all your knowledge regarding the spelling of words, the construction of paragraphs, so that the ideas are presented clearly to the reader, and for this to happen, it is necessary to carefully choose the words. Did you notice how much difference?!
From these examples, we now understand the difference between the two modalities, that is, the language informal is the one present in everyday conversations, allowing us to use that plethora of resources. Formal language, on the other hand, is a little more complex, as it is related to what we call a formal pattern, that is, that style that is common to all of us. We say it is common because we need to know it well, and this knowledge is acquired according to our studies with regard to everything that grammar reveals to us through Portuguese language classes and, mainly, with the habit of reading and practicing the writing.
By Vânia Duarte
Graduated in Letters
Kids School Team
