What are Colloquial Phrases and Their Academic Equivalents?

In linguistics, there is the distinction between ‘’frozen’; sometimes the language is more conversational, the spoken language which is distinguished from formal or written language. Such expressions are expressed as colloquialisms. People enjoy using colloquial phrases because they are immediately familiar to them and ease communication.

However, in academic writing, such colloquial terms are also considered undesirable since it does not sound proper. The best challenge that arises here is when translating colloquial language into more scholarly language, while still being as natural as possible with rhetoric.

In this article, the author explains the meaning of the concept of colloquialisms, provides examples of colloquialisms, points out the cases where it is wrong to use colloquialisms in academic writing, and gives some recommendations on how to turn colloquial language into academic language.

What is a Colloquialism?

It is important to notice that colloquialisms are individual colloquialisms that are widespread and free phrases used in everyday life, which may be regional or culturally specific. The above-expressed formulations may also differ depending on the country, district, or social circle.

Colloquialisms are an indispensable part of everyday language because they convey the mood, the tone, and the insouciance of everyday speech; however, these cannot be used in written works such as standard formalisms as academic writing, where there is the necessity to be clear, precise, and official at the same time.

There is always ambiguity that is associate with colloquialism especially to people who have little experience with particular dialects or those who are learning English as a second language. For instance, the there are bound to frequencies, contractions such as ‘gonna’ as a contraction for ‘going to’ or ‘wanna’ as a contraction for ‘want to’ are acceptable in informal language but are discouraged in formal language.

Examples of Colloquialisms

Before we proceed to a deeper analysis, let’s outline several examples of the use of colloquialisms in everyday language. The examples below show how professionalism is used as a convenient way of phrasing or expressing emotion or an action:

• – “I’m not very good” – Meaning the person is sleepy or bored.
• ”That’s a piece of cake !” – This phrase is used when a person does not find a task difficult to complete.
• “Break a leg” – An idiomatic expression of wishing good luck, and is mostly used before the performance.
• Interchangeably: Of these, ‘hit the books’ refers to studying or preparing for an examination or coursework.
• ‘Bite the bullet’ – an idiom used when one has to execute a distasteful action from which he has refrained.

These are just a few of the idioms that infuse speech and make it free and easier. That is why, in the academic language, the given informal phrases can be replaced by the more formal and corresponding equivalents.

Colloquialism in Literature

Colloquialism in Academic Writing: The Shift Towards Formality

In writing academically, the aim is to make the communication of an argued thought process and analysis as clear as possible. Such a goal can be camouflaged by colloquialisms, as they are rather informal or uncertain in their reference.

It is not logical and appropriate to write in informal language in formal academic papers; for instance, the use of colloquialisms in writing leads to confusion or misunderstanding, or makes the writer look unprofessional. Forr instance, “I am going to finish my research tomorrow.” In academic writing, it should be changed to “I shall carry out my research tomorrow” simply because it is more formal and academically appropriate.

Other informal uses, such as “gonna” or “wanna“are also unhygienically unfavourable for writing since they make the paper more conversational instead of formal. It is very important for any student who aims to write formally to understand how to replace colloquialisms with formal paraphrases. Let me show you some examples of colloquialisms with an explanation of how one can make hard shortenings into more formal language translations.

Inappropriate Colloquialisms: When to Avoid Them

Certain of those expressions are too colloquial and informal to be used in academic writing since they are regional and idiom-specific. Such unpopular informalisms include the following;

”You are in a whole new ball gam, Mr. Williams.” – A casual style used especially in America to refer to a completely different scenario.

It is a phrase that is used to mean by a whisker, which has to do with being a close call.

Get to the point: This is a phrase which means that one should avoid wasting a lot of time on unnecessary formalities but rather move directly to the most important information.

They used the proverb “throw in the towel”, meaning the person should stop fighting and accept the situation.

These intentions may apply well during informal exchanges or literary works, but such a tone is not suitable for use in papers. One has to be careful of a situation where a colloquialism could have been avoided, and a more precise, direct expression applied instead.

For instance, instead of using an idiom like “I passed by the skin of my teeth,” it is better to use a phrase like “I passed the test narrowly.” In this revision, the meaning of the original piece has remained unaltered while keeping in check academic guidelines.

Colloquialisms vs. Idioms: Are They the Same?

Some individuals hardly understand the difference between an idiom and a colloquial expression. Despite being contracted for similar purposes and usage, they do not have similar features. Colloquialism, on the other hand, is familiar and informal in business and social ways of speaking, a nd an idiom refers to an expression that does not have a literal sense but bears some other meaning.

For instance, “kick the bucket” is an idiom that, in actuality, means to die. When the words are interpreted literally, they do not reflect the idiomatic meaning compared to another simple proverb, which is interpreted as meaning feeling sad or depressed, ‘I’m feeling blue’. Colloquialisms and idioms should not be freely used in any type of writing, as they are likely to confuse most readers in society.

In this case, instead of using such a tone, the writers should use words that are simpler and easily understood by the general population.

Colloquialism Examples in Literature

Despite their informal nature, colloquialisms in literature serve important purposes. Colloquial phrases help the writer create characters, the environment, and the story’s thematic tone. For instance, the use of so-called ‘colorful language’ is well stipulated in the novel, such as in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn contains numerous colloquialisms that might reflect the speech patterns and socio-cultural status of the character.

For instance, when Huck Finn uses such terms as ‘It’s a way we’ve got to do it,’ it justifies the everyday language due to Huck’s rough manner. This strengthens the realism of the story and makes the readers relate well to the various characters that are depicted by the authors. Nevertheless, there is a slight difference between colloquialisms in literature and colloquialisms in academic writing.

In literature, the colloquial expressions that one has been using play the role of creating the voice and world of the story. In the academic setting, words that are straight and formal should be used, and therefore, these phrases should not be used.

30 Colloquial Words with Meaning

1. Gonna – Going to
2. Wanna – Want to
3. Y’all – You all
4. Grit – Courage or determination
5. Broke Out of money
6. Hang out – Spend time together
7. Cool – Good, interesting, or impressive
8. Couch potato – Someone who spends a lot of time sitting, often watching TV
9. Chill – Relax
10. Bail – Leave or exit a situation
11. Grub – Food
12. Bummer – Disappointment
13. Screwed – In a difficult situation
14. Pissed – Angry
15. Dude – A man or person
16. Lame – Uncool or boring
17. Messed up – In a bad situation
18. Pumped – Excited or enthusiastic
19. Props – Respect or credit
20. Beat – Exhausted
21. Dig – Understand or like
22. Crash – Sleep
23. Bite the bullet – Face a difficult situation
24. Hang in there – Persevere
25. No sweat – No problem
26. Piece of cake – Easy task
27. Hit the sack – Go to bed
28. Catch some Z’s – Sleep
29. Take a rain check – Postpone an invitation
30. Blow off steam – Express frustration

Conclusion

Proverbs and idioms help the speech sound friendly and informal, as they are spoken by regular people. However, it is critical to comprehend when or when it is appropriate to use colloquialisms in day-to-day writing, not to mention in academic writing.

For this reason, when the students understand the colloquialism’s meaning as well as the examples, they can write better and more formal academic papers than colloquial ones without losing their personality and style in writing.

Staying away from idioms and colloquialisms, knowing how to substitute these idiomatic expressions with academic counterparts, and getting an insight into the most common idiomatic phrases in most pieces of literature can assist the students in all aspects of their informal and formal communication.

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