Interlocutor relation predicts the formality of the conversation

An experiment in American and British English

Abstract

Formality is an important notion in register research. However, it is hard to give it a precise definition. Furthermore, it is challenging to identify the situational parameters required for levels of formality. Potential parameters include the social relation between interlocutors. We conducted two rating studies with American and British English speakers and tested the connection between formality and social relations, while exploring the influence of certain demographic factors on the rating. We hypothesised that public social relations are associated with more formal contexts than private social relations. The results strongly confirmed the hypothesis. We expect that our findings shed further light on the connection between formality and social relations and consequently, inform experimental set-ups investigating variation in language use.