GEC1033 – English for Effective Communication

Week 7

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

 define style and register

 able to recognize, compare and contrast language registers as well as distinguish
between different registers
 able to write a story in two versions : in formal register and in casual register.
 able to utilize these registers for more effective communication.

Register

Register and What It Means to Language

Register is the level of formality used when speaking or writing. Victoria Fromkin and Robert
Rodman, authors of An Introduction to Language, call it "a stylistic variant of a language
appropriate to a particular social setting, also called style" (535). Dell Hymes suggests that
register, or social variation in speech, is "located along such dimensions as the kind of speech
event being engaged in (e.g. sales talk as compared to man-to-man talk), the roles of the
various parties (e.g. talk to children compared with talk to adults), the topic of the discussion
(e.g. children's talk about toys compared with their talk about discipline), and the style of the
discussion (e.g. whether informal or formal)" (qtd. in Wootton 44). From this, we can conclude
that the determinants of register include social setting, situation, addressor and addressee,
and topic. In other words, language has to be appropriate to the individuals speaking and
hearing it, and it also must match particular occasions and situations. For example, a
sportscaster would not recount highlights from a football game in the legal language used by
lawyers and judges in a courtroom, nor would a minister order a hamburger at a fast-food
restaurant in the same style he delivers his Sunday morning sermon. Both the sportscaster
and the minister adjust their style of speaking, or register, to fit the setting and to avoid
embarrassment, just as most people adjust their language constantly in everyday speech
depending upon whom they are speaking with and where they are.

Formality is one of the many facets of register and is dictated by the addressee, context, and
topic. When an individual speaks or writes in the formal mode, he or she uses Standard
American English, which Fromkin and Rodman define as "an idealized dialect of English that is
considered by some prescriptive grammarians to be the proper form of English" (537). Formal
register, seen more often in written language than in spoken, is used in the professional realm
and when people are not familiar with each other. People tend to speak more informally when
talking with family and friends. Non-standard American English, slang, and the frequent use of
contractions can characterize informal register. Formal register and informal register allow the
speaker to use a variety of speech styles that can easily be switched to meet the needs of both
the speaker and the listener. For example, a medical doctor does not use the same register to
address everyone he or she speaks to. A doctor may use an informal register at home with
family and friends, a more formal register with patients that does not include medical jargon that
the patient would not understand, and an even more formal register with colleagues that may
include medical jargon and words associated with the medical field. Many professionals such as
doctors and lawyers have a jargon of their own that is not really slang. These are words
commonly used in their profession and make them sound more credible to their peers. Just as
formality determines register, the subject matter dictates what kind of register the speaker will
use. A doctor is not going recite the steps of tying shoelaces to his four-year-old daughter in the
same manner he would recite the procedures for conducting open-heart surgery.

Language varies according to the situation and addressee, but it also varies according to the
speaker's social class, ethnic group, age, and sex, as Peter Trudgill notes in Sociolinguistics: An
Introduction to Language and Society (100). This explains why there are differences between
professionals' and blue-collar workers' speech, African-Americans' and Italian Americans'
speech, teenagers' and adults' speech, and men's and women's speech. The type of addressee
determines what register will be used. This change in register, when the speaker shifts his or
her register to match the context, "corresponds to what Blom and Gumperz call situational
switching" (Pride 28). For example, a teenage girl chatting on the phone with a classmate is
speaking informally, using slang, and speaking non-standard English, and when she accepts an
incoming call from her father's lawyer, she shifts her speaking style from informal to formal by
speaking Standard American English and by leaving out slang and colloquialisms used by her
and her friends. This kind of situational switching occurs naturally in the speech of most people
and happens so quickly that the speaker usually does not have to make a conscious decision to
change his or her register.

Relevant Term

 Register (Style): The level of formality used when speaking and writing. Most speakers
of a language know how to use many dialects, using one with friends, another when on a
job interview or presenting a report in class, and another with talking with family. These
are situational dialects, also called registers or styles.

 Slang: An informal style of speech. Combining old words to elicit a more current
meaning often creates slang terms. "Spaced out," "right on," "hang-ups," and "rip off"
have all gained acceptances as slang terms. Slang terms may also introduce an entirely
new word to the language; examples include "barf" and "poop." Finally, slang often
ascribes totally new meanings to old words. Some examples of these type of slang
words are as follows: grass/pot = marijuana, pig = police officer, sticks = legs. Words
such as "rap," "cool," "dig," "stoned," and "split" have extended their semantic domain as
well.

 Jargon: Words peculiar to a professional realm, science, trade, or occupation. Words

such as "ROM," "RAM," "morf," "modem," "bit," and "byte" were once computer jargon
and only understood by computer technicians, but they are now understood by a large
segment of the population.

 Situational Switching: the act of changing one's register to match the setting, situation,
addressee, or topic.

Some Types of Registers

 Formal Register: A type of register that incorporates Standard American English and is
used by professionals or in situations where people are not familiar with one another.

 Informal Register: A type of register used with more familiar people in casual
conversation. In the informal style of register, contractions are used more often, rules of
negation and agreement may be altered, and slang or colloquialisms may be used.
Informal register also permits certain abbreviations and deletions, but they are rule
 governed. For example, deleting the "you" subject and the auxiliary often shortens
questions. Instead of asking, "Are you running in the marathon," a person might ask,
"Running the marathon?"

 Over-formal Register: A type of register that can be characterized by the use of a false
high-pitched nasal voice. For example, a woman might approach another woman whom
she does not really like and ask her cordially in a high-pitched voice, "How are you
doing?"

 Motherese: A type of register characterized by high-pitched, elongated sounds and

"sing-song" intonation. It is used when people speak to infants, young children, or pets.

 Reporting Register: A type of register characterized by easily observable verbal and

non-verbal cues: flat intonation, rapid rate of speech, relatively low pitch, absence of
marked facial expressions, and gestures.

How to Study Register

In their book Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Register, Douglas Biber and Edward Finegan
provide an analytic framework to follow when studying register. Biber begins with his definition
of register as being “a general cover term for all language varieties associated with different
situations and purposes” (32). The framework should include and distinguish between
characteristics of linguistic and non-linguistic factors and should use these differences for a
classification of register.

The communicative characteristics of participants involved in the situation taking place must be
taken into consideration, beginning with the addressor(s), which can be the writer or speaker.
This will be a singular person; several people, as in a co-authored work; or institutional, as in
departmental or government document. The addressee(s) will be singular, as in a dyadic
conversation or a letter; plural, as in a classroom; or unenumerated, such as in a novel or a
magazine. Next, a researcher must examine the relations between the addressor and
addressee, taking into account the social role each participant maintains. Age, occupation, and
shared knowledge, whether on the topic and/or personal background, all play important parts in
determining this relationship. In regards to relative status and power, it is necessary to
determine which one has the most power or if they share an equal status. The amount of
interchange involved can be extensive, as in everyday typical conversation; extensive or
moderate, such as in classroom lectures; or nonexistent, as in published materials or formal
speeches. Furthermore, it should be established whether or not the participants share personal
knowledge of each other’s background.

When and where the communication takes place is referred to as setting. Biber identifies
settings with a particular context of use or domain. He distinguishes six primary domains:
“Business and workplace, education and academic, government and legal, religious, art and
entertainment, and domestic/personal” (43). Within each of these areas, there exists a public
and a private setting. Technology such as TV, radio, or any type of mass media can be used to
represent or present these domains. It must be taken into account that a difference among
registers may arise when the time of communication and place are shared, as in direct
conversation in the presence of each other. Participants can share time and be familiar with, but
not actually share place, as in a telephone conversation. Also, participants “can be familiar with,
but not share, both time and place of communication (as in many letters), or be completely
unaware of each other’s place and time (as in most kinds of expository writing)” (43).

Careful attention must be given to the primary channel, or mode, of communication--usually

writing or speech. Both channels may be used together, thereby becoming a mixed mode such
as a written lecture. Other modes include drum talk, sign language, or Morse codes. Another
characteristic of mode to be considered is its permanence factor. For speech--such as
telephone conversations, face-to-face conversations, and television and radio broadcasts--the
mode can be classified as recorded or transient. Because writing, published or unpublished, is a
form of recording, it is thereby nearly always permanent, classified as transcribed, printed, taped,
handwritten, e-mail, or other.

How the addressor presents the information and how the addressee receives it should also be
considered. Unlike writers, speakers lack the opportunity, “to plan, revise, and edit their texts as
much as they wish” (43). In addition to this, the addressee is affected by comprehension
circumstances such as self-imposed time constraints.

Another factor important in differentiating among registers is the different purposes, intents, and
goals of the addressor. At one extreme are registers that attempt to explain or describe facts. At
the other end of the spectrum are registers that are completely fictional or overtly imaginative.
Between these two extremes are a variety of registers such as position papers, historical fiction,
editorials, philosophical arguments, and theoretical position papers. As for purpose, Biber
characterizes it along four parameters: “ ‘persuade’ (or sell), ‘transfer information’, ‘entertain’ (or
edify), and reveal self" (44).

Lastly, the topic or subject being discussed--whether popular, generalized, or specialized--needs

to be considered. If the subject is specialized, it must be noted accordingly, examples being
science, finances, politics, sports, and law.

Through these parameters, a thorough study of register and all of its affecting circumstances
can be accomplished. Biber writes: “The primary goal of the framework is to specify the
situational characteristics of registers in such a way that the similarities and differences between
any pair of registers will be explicit” (41).

By Ellen Hunt, Myra Jones, Rebecca Price, Claudia Walker, Lindsay Walker, Debra Williams
Students, University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Hunt, Ellen, et al. "Register." All American: Literature, History, and Culture. 1999.
http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/language/register.htm (*).
Language Registers

There are five language registers or styles. Each level has an appropriate use that is determined
by differing situations. It would certainly be inappropriate to use language and vocabulary
reserve for a boyfriend or girlfriend when speaking in the classroom. Thus the appropriate
language register depends upon the audience (who), the topic (what), purpose (why) and
location (where).

You must control the use of language registers in order to enjoy success in every aspect and
situation you encounter.

1. Static Register
This style of communications RARELY or NEVER changes. It is “frozen” in time and content. e.g.
the Pledge of Allegiance, the Preamble to the US Constitution, the Alma Mater, a bibliographic
reference, laws .

2. Formal Register
This language is used in formal settings and is one-way in nature. This use of language usually
follows a commonly accepted format. It is usually impersonal and formal. A common format for
this register are speeches. e.g. sermons, rhetorical statements and questions, speeches,
pronouncements made by judges, announcements.

3. Consultative Register
This is a standard form of communications. Users engage in a mutually accepted structure of
communications. It is formal and societal expectations accompany the users of this speech. It is
professional discourse. e.g. when strangers meet, communications between a superior and a
subordinate, doctor & patient, lawyer & client, lawyer & judge, teacher & student, counselor &
client,

4. Casual Register
This is informal language used by peers and friends. Slang, vulgarities and colloquialisms are
normal. This is “group” language. One must be member to engage in this register. e.g. buddies,
teammates, chats and emails, and blogs, and letters to friends.
5. Intimate Register
This communications is private. It is reserved for close family members or intimate people. e.g.
husband & wife, boyfriend & girlfriend, siblings, parent & children.

Rule of Language Use:

One can usually transition from one language register to an adjacent one without encountering
repercussions. However, skipping one or more levels is usually considered inappropriate and
even offensive.

Source: Montano-Harmon, M. R. “Developing English for Academic Purposes” California State

University, Fullerton.
http://www.genconnection.com/English/ap/LanguageRegisters.htm