VARIETIES

AND
REGISTERS
OF SPOKEN
AND WRITTEN
LANGUAGE
How do you greet the following..
your best friend
your mother
your teacher
your school chairperson
Language Varieties
refers to any variant of a language that can be
sufficiently delimited from one another - social,
historical, spatial, or a combination of the these
Varieties of language:
1. PIDGIN
-is a new language that develops in a situation where
speakers of different languages need to
communicate but do not share a common language.
-a lexifier is a particular language where the
vocabulary of a pidgin comes from.
 Varieties of language:
2. CREOLE
-is a pidgin that becomes the first language of the children
and the mother tongue of the community
Examples: Ternateño (spoken in the village of Ternate, Manila
bay); Caviteño ( spoken in the neighborhood of Cavite City;
Zamboangeño (Zamboanga City, Mindanao)
Varieties of language:
3. Regional Dialects
-is not a distinct language but a variety of a language
spoken in a particular area of a country.
Varieties of language:
4. MINORITY DIALECT
-is a variety used as a marker of identity, usually
alongside a standard variety, by the member of a
particular minority ethnic group
Varieties of language:
5. INDIGENIZED VARIETIES
-are spoken mainly as a second language in
ex-colonies with multilingual populations
Language Registers
Nordquist (2018) a register is:
-defined as the way a speaker uses language differently in
a different circumstance
-determined by factors and social occasion, context,
purpose, and audience
-determine the vocabulary, structure, and some grammar
in one’s writing and even in one’s oral discourse
Five Distinct Registers:
1. FROZEN
- it refers to historic language or communication that
is intended to remain unchanged, like a constitution
or a prayer
Five Distinct Registers:
2. FORMAL
- is used in professional, academic, or legal settings
where communication is expected to be respectful,
uninterrupted, and restrained. Slang is never used
and contractions are rare.
Five Distinct Registers:
3. CONSULTATIVE
- is used in conversation when they are speaking with
someone who has a specialized language or who is
offering advice. Tone is often respectful(use of
courtesy titles), but may be more casual if the
relationship is longstanding or friendly.
Five Distinct Registers:
4. CASUAL
- is used when with friends, close acquaintances and
co-workers, and family
Five Distinct Registers:
5. INTIMATE
- is reserved for special occasion, usually between
only two people and often in private
Language Registers are classified
as:
1. Formal language register
- is more appropriate for professional writing and
letters to a boss or a stranger
-is impersonal, meaning, it is not written for a specific
person and without emotion
Rules in Formal Writing:
A. Do not use contractions

B. spell out numbers less than one hundred

C. write in the 3rd person point of view

D. Avoid using too much passive verbs

E. Avoid using slang, idioms, exaggeration and cliches

F. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms

Rules in Formal Writing:
G. Do not start sentences with words like, and, so, but, also. Here are some good transition
words and phrases to use in formal writing:

nevertheless however as a result of additionally in addition although

H. Always write in complete sentences

I. write longer, more complex sentences

Language Registers are classified
as:
2. INFORMAL LANGUAGE REGISTER
- is a conversational and appropriate when writing to
friends and people you know very well