Types of Spoken English
Slangs consist of a vocabulary of non-standard words and phrases in a given language. Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referred to, or with a group of people who are familiar with it and use the term.
Variations in Spoken English
Different people will need different levels of accuracy and fluency in Spoken English, depending on the professions they are in. Let’s discuss the different levels here −
Professional Spoken English
This type of language is used by professionals from specific industries. The speech used here is highly technical, with stress put on facts, figures, data and industry jargons.
Example
Mary − "How is your day going?"
John − "Very busy. I'm preparing a detailed presentation on marketing strategy and competitor analysis which would be presented to the client. I'm not even half done yet."
Mary − "You must feel anxious out now."
John − "Of course, that’s an understatement."
Literary Spoken English
This is the language used in magazines and newspapers. The stress is more on communicating with a large section of the crowd. The speech follows all rules of grammar and yet, the words used are simple and common.
Example
Clive Staples Lewis, commonly known as C. S. Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), was a novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist. Born in Belfast, Ireland, he held academic positions at both Oxford University (Magdalen College), 1925–54, and Cambridge University (Magdalene College), 1954–63. He is best known for his fictional work, especially The Screw tape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.
Conversational Spoken English
This English is the more widely used in daily conversation, where rules of grammar are more relaxed, stress is more on just getting the message across. Sentences might be dropped half-way on realizing that the listener has gotten the message.
Example
Situation − The conversation is between an employee who works with an interior designing store and a client.
Receptionist − “Good Afternoon. This is EFX Interior Designer Store. How may I help you today?”
Mohan − “Hi. I am Mohan. I wanted to get a custom-made interior decoration done for my house. Could I please speak to someone?”
Receptionist − “Sure Sir. Just hold on for a second or two.”
Mohan − “Okay. Sure.”
After a while…
Raj − “Hey. This is Raj. How can I assist you?”
Mohan − “Hi Raj, I’ve heard a lot about your Interior designing company. Could you provide me some samples of your work? I am looking for a trendy and aesthetically looking interiors for my newly built house.
Raj − “Well, Mohan. You’ve approached the right place. I will be more than glad to help. Though you will have to provide some more details that you are looking at.”
Mohan − “Raj, I am actually looking for a colourful theme for each room along with some lighting variations on the ceiling”
Raj − “Sounds interesting! Any colour in particular?”
Mohan − “Yes, actually. I am hovering over two colours. One being light blue and one being sunset orange.”
Raj − “Perfect! Though Mohan, I will require you to visit my store at the earliest.”
Mohan − “That will be good. Can I drop by on the coming Sunday?”
Raj − “Great! Sunday, around 4. Also, by the time you are here, I will assemble some samples in the two colours mentioned by you along with some of my printed designs that display the pattern you’ve got in mind.”
Mohan − “Perfect. Thanks a lot. It’s quite a relief frankly. See you soon.”
Raj − “You’re welcome Mohan. Bye.”
Slang, Ethnic, and Vulgar English
Every language comes with a set of words that have multiple meanings, and depending upon the situation in which you use them, multiple interpretations as well. These words are called slangs, and are native to a particular region.
Certain words might not be strictly off-limits in a society, but could be highly offensive to a particular community. These ethnic slangs and vulgar words find their way into the slang talk. Close friends use this mode for communication while having a friendly, informal conversation. In addition to this, the pronunciation of certain words changes with different regions which might cause confusion in speech.
