The substrate may survive as a second language for informal conversation.

However, these measure words may not always be used in informal conversation.

"I can't help it," she said in one informal conversation.

The verb form means informal conversation among a group of people, often for hours at an end, and usually accompanied by food.

But people close to the groups said informal conversations had continued over the weekend and an agreement could still be reached.

The same is true of a lot of informal conversation, though obviously not all speech.

It starts with informal conversations in the common room, cafeteria or at a conference.

They even used phrases originally employed by the students themselves in informal conversation.

That earned him another smile, but then there was a beat of silence where once some more informal conversation might have taken place.

A month later, he told reporters in an informal conversation: "There's not going to be another contract."