REGISTERS

7

th

November 2010

Aims and objectives



Variables that change
according to register



Slang



Jargon



Formality scale

Examples:



Christianese



Baby talk



How is ‘register’
usefully analysed?



What variables are
affected in:

field?

tenor?

mode?

Repertoire of language



Situational variation in language use



‘Affective relationship to salient

aspects of the situation’

Finegan (2004: 333)



Setting



Addressee



Topic



Goal

Origin of term ‘register’



Thomas Bertram Reid (1956)



Variations in language according to

user

as opposed to



Variations in language according to

use

:

"in the sense that each speaker has a range

of varieties and choices between them at
different times" (Halliday et al. 1964).

Variables that determine

register



Halliday (1964)
1. Field (the subject matter of the discourse)
2. Tenor (the participants and their relationships)
3. Mode (the channel of communication, e.g. spoken

or written).

What can vary?



Vocabulary, syntax, phonology,morphology, pragmatic

rules



Different prosodic features: pitch, volume and

intonation in spoken English



Non-linguistic prescriptions: dress codes / body

language / proximity of speakers

Lexical markers of style and

register



Synonyms for urinate:

pee
go to the bathroom
wash one’s hands
powder one’s nose
visit the little boys’ room



Names and forms of address
Madonna ≠ ‘Madge’
Tu / Vous
Du / Sie

Slang



The register used in situations of
extreme informality Finegan (2004:
335)



Slang is subject to change



‘One generation’s slang is another
generation’s standard vocabulary’
(Fromkin et al. 1998: 427).



Fan, phone, TV.

Jargon



Specialist words used by occupational
or recreational groups

Phonological markers of style and

register: -ing in Norwich



-ing

Peter Trudgill. 1974. The Social Differentiation of English in Norwich.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Grammatical markers of

style and register



Sentence final prepositions (e.g. She
ran a huge credit card bill up; This is
something I will not put up with)



Legal and scientific writing



Negation and subject-verb agreement



Question formation

Semantic markers of style

and register



Crack



Coke



Pot



Snow



Grass



Speed



Joint

Formality scale



‘We characterise styles as varieties of language
viewed from the point of view of formality’ (Trudgill
1992).

Quirk et al. 1985

Formality scale

Very formal, Frozen, Rigid

← FORMAL

Neutral

INFORMAL →

Very informal, Casual,

Familiar

Joos (1961)



Frozen



Formal



Consultative



Casual



Intimate

Example 1: ‘Baby talk’



Child-directed speech (CDS)



More effective in gaining infant’s
attention



Mental development



Universal?



Use with non-infants: Derogatory /
Flirtatious / Pets

Vocabulary



Family unit / more widespread



Taboo words

pee-pee (urinate or penis)

poo-poo or doo-doo (defecation)

potty (toilet)

sissy (sister)

sleepy-bye (go to bed, sleeping, bedtime)

stinky (defecation)

tummy (stomach)

wawa (water)

wee-wee (urination or penis)

widdle (urine (chiefly British))

widdle (little (chiefly American))

Diminutives



horsey (from horse)



kitty (from cat or kitten)



potty (originally from pot now
equivalent to modern toilet)



doggy (from dog)

Example 2: Christianese



cross



lay (something) at the cross



nail (something) to the cross saved

be (or get) saved



testimony



witness

- ruin one's witness

Example from Polish



What is the pronunciation of ‘ę’?



Tędy



Dziękuję



Proszę



Tę