Antonio De Leon 5/2/22

ENG1

Notes

 A register is a set of a language that is used in a certain social context and

includes words, phrases, and expressions that are not often used in other
circumstances (or if they did, they may sound strange or out of place).
 Linguists call this the language register, sometimes also referred to as tenor,
tone or style.
 The term “register” was invented by linguist Thomas Bertram Reid in 1956 and
popularized in the 1960s by a group of linguists who wanted to distinguish
between language variations based on the user defined by variables such as
social background, geography, sex, and age and variations based on how and
when the language is used in the sense that each speaker has a range of
varieties and choices between them at different times
 The formality scale is one of the most studied areas where language use is
influenced by the situation. The phrase “register” is frequently used to refer to
formal and casual styles. However, many would disagree that this is a basic
definition because, as previously said, register involves more than simply
formality.
 Switching between registers may be challenging for foreign speakers, particularly
learners. In linguistics, this is known as "code-switching." That is why, even while
speaking to close friends, they may sound like TV hosts or politicians (i.e., highly
formal). Or they may unintentionally sound overly informal, even disrespectful
even if they do not intend to the solution to this is to familiarize yourself with the
social and cultural associations of words and expressions – which is the basis of
language registers. Reading and listening to popular culture, interacting with
native speakers and so on.
 “Gonna” and Going to or “Innit” and Isn’t it There is no difference in meaning.
Both mean exactly the same thing. The only difference is in the level of formality
and ‘properness’
 There is a difference the way you talk in a street , friends or family compared to a
Job Interview even though it is just the same person talking
 A register is a language variation defined by use, not user. The same person
may use more than one register depending on the context or social setting.
 Registers are described for their typical lexical and grammatical characteristics:
their linguistic features. But registers are also described for their situational
contexts, for example whether they are produced in speech or writing, whether
they are interactive, and what their primary communicative purposes are.
Linguistic features are always functional when considered from a register
perspective. That is, linguistic features tend to occur in a register because they
are particularly well suited to the purposes and situational context of the register.
Thus, the third component of any register description is the functional analysis
 Register/genre variation as a linguistic universal, All cultures use language for
different communicative purposes in different situations