GE 005 – PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION 1

GE 005
Purposive Communication

MODULE 5
Varieties and Registers of Spoken and
Written Language

Marlyn D. Tolosa
Professor

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Overview
Welcome to Purposive Communication Module 5 on Varieties and
Registers of Spoken and Written Language!

This module aims to enlighten you on the different varieties and

registers of spoken and written language.

This module was designed to provide learners meaningful opportunities

for guided and independent learning at their own pace and time. Learners will
be enabled to process the contents of the learning material while being an
active learner.

Technical Requirements
This distance learning requires the use of the following: Google Classroom
and Google Meet. (if ALL students have the capacity to use Google Meet for
synchronous class)

Content Outline
1. Defining key concepts
2. Different Kinds of Language Varieties
3. Language Registers

Objectives

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Identify the common types of written and spoken language register;
2. Explain the importance of different language varieties in spoken and
written language; and
3. Demonstrate the different varieties of spoken and written English.

Preliminary Activity
1. List the languages which you can effectively carry out a conversation.
Arrange them according to your level of proficiency in the language.

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 Explain your answer.

5
4
3
2
1

2. How did you learn these languages?

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Discussion/Instructional Flow
Read carefully the information below.

Defining Key Concepts

The term language is usually used interchangeably with dialect, which
is the traditional term for language variation within a speech community.
According to geographical location, age, occupation, socio-economic
status, ethnicity, there are many linguistic varieties. A dialect is a regional
or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar,
and/or vocabulary. The term dialect is often used to characterize a way of
speaking that differs from the standard variety of the language. Dialects are
often evaluated negatively. Dialect speakers have been associated with
cognitive deficits, minor education, etc.
Standard language is the highly positively accepted variety and is related
to good education, good general knowledge etc. From the perspective of
descriptive linguistics, however, the term dialect has lost these connotations
and is the term for the neutral or objective description of a specific regional
variety which is actually used. Varieties that correlate with social class are
often called sociolects, with gender genderlects, etc.
Social dialects, or sociolects, are motivated by the socio-economic
status, level of education, profession, age, ethnicity, or sex of the speaker.

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This is based on the social levels from which they come from: high, middle,
and lower social classes.
In sociolinguistics, genderlects is a speech variety or communication
style particularly associated with one sex (a kind of dialect). This is shaped by
cultural factors. According to Lakoff (1942), this is a result of differences in
male and female social roles. Speech differences are a key feature in gender
stereotypes: as in the man of few words and the garrulous woman.
Accents differ from dialects only in that they refer to variation in the
pronunciation, whereas dialects include grammatical and lexical
differences. A standard language is a specific variety (dialect or accent) which
is highly accepted and estimated in a society or a culture (prestige) and which
can usually be accessed through written documents like grammars,
dictionaries, etc.
Do you agree with the following statements? Explain your answer.
1. Language is usually used interchangeably with dialect.
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2. Dialect speakers have been associated with cognitive deficits, minor
education, etc.
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Different Kinds of Language Varieties

1. Pidgin

It is a simplified form of speech formed out of one or more existing

languages and used as a lingua franca by people who have no other
language in common. Also known as a pidgin language or an auxiliary
language.

It is nobody's mother tongue, and it is not a real language at all: it

has no elaborate grammar, it is very limited in what it can convey, and
different people speak it differently. Still, for simple purposes, it does
work, and often everybody in the area learns to handle it" (Language
and Linguistics: The Key Concepts, 2007).

Examples
Nigerian Pidgin
Bislama (spoken in Vanuatu)

2. Creole
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 When children start learning a pidgin as their first language and it
becomes the mother tongue of a community, it is called a creole. Like a
pidgin, a creole is a distinct language which has taken most of its
vocabulary from another language, the lexifier, but has its own unique
grammatical rules. Unlike a pidgin, however, a creole is not restricted
in use, and is like any other language in its full range of functions.

Examples
Gullah, Jamaican Creole
Hawai`i Creole English
Chabacano, Spanish‑based creole language

3. Regional dialect

A regional dialect is not a distinct language but a variety of a

language spoken in a particular area of a country. Some regional
dialects have been given traditional names which mark them out as
being significantly different from standard varieties spoken in the same
place.

Examples

'Hillbilly English' (from the Appalachians in the USA)

'Geordie' (from Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK).

4. Minority dialect

Sometimes members of a particular minority ethnic group have

their own variety which they use as a marker of identity, usually
alongside a standard variety. This is called a minority dialect.

Examples
African American Vernacular English in the USA
London Jamaican in Britain
Aboriginal English in Australia.

5. Indigenized variety

Indigenized varieties are spoken mainly as second languages in ex-

colonies with multilingual populations. The differences from the
standard variety may be linked to English proficiency, or may be part
of a range of varieties used to express identity.

Example
'Singlish' (spoken in Singapore) is a variety very different from standard
English, and there are many other varieties of English used in India.

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Language Registers

Register

Varieties of language which are more closely associated with setting or

scene in which they are used that with the people who are using them are
usually included in the concept of register, and distinguished from one
another primarily on the dimension of relative formality (Troike and
Blackwell).

Registers are sets of vocabulary items associated with discrete

occupational or social groups. Surgeons, airline pilots, bank managers, sales
clerk, jazz fans, and pimps use different vocabularies. One person may control
a number of registers.

1. Frozen or “static” register

At this level, language is literally “frozen” in time and form. It does not
change. This type of language is often learned and repeated by rote.

Examples
Biblical verse, prayers, the Pledge of Allegiance

2. Formal register
This style is impersonal and often follows a prescriptive format. The
speaker uses complete sentences, avoids slang and may use technical or
academic vocabulary. It is likely that the speaker will use fewer contractions,
but opt instead for complete words.

Example
“have not” instead of “haven’t”).

3. Consultative register
This is the register used when consulting an expert such as a doctor. The
language used is more precise. The speaker is likely to address the expert by
a title such as “Doctor”, “Mr.” or “Mrs.”.

Some sources say this register is the formal register used in conversation.

4. Casual register
This register is conversational in tone. It is the language used among
and between friends. Words are general, rather than technical. This register
may include more slang and colloquialisms.

5. Intimate register

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 The language used by lovers. It is also the language used in sexual
harassment. This is the most intimate form of language. It is best avoided in
public and professional situations.

Post Activity
1. Cite an example of each of the language varieties and language
registers. Provide documents, pictures, reports or other written and oral
evidences for these examples.
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2. Choose one of the language varieties, and search its history, how it
began and evolved.
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Evaluation
1. Differentiate language from dialect. Give an example to illustrate your
point.
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2. In a graphic organizer, summarize the language varieties and registers.

References
Language Varieties. Retrieved from https://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/
definitions/index.html

English Language and Linguistics Online. Retrieved from http://www.ello.uos.de/

field.php/TheoryModelMethod/TheoryModelMethodLanguageAndItsVarieties

Varieties of Language (18 October 2008). Retrieved from https://pbngfkipunlam.

wordpress.com/2008/10/18/varieties-of-language/

Nordquist, R. (12 February 2020). What is a pidgin? Retrieved from https://www.

thoughtco.com/pidgin-language-1691626

https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/language-register-and-why-it-matters-
or-why-you-cant-write-an-academic-paper-in-gangsta-

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slang/#:~:text=Language%20register%20is%20the%20level,writing%20with%20a%20formal
%20tone.

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