REGISTERS AND

VARIETIES OF SPOKEN
AND WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION
• Registers in English

• Types of Linguistic Registers

• Varieties of English

01
 STYLE VS. REGISTER

• Style refers to how the text is written to suit its

purpose (to explain something, persuade
someone, describe a situation).

• Register is the language required to fit the style

of writing.
 What is Language Register?
The language register (also called linguistic
register and speech register) describes the way a
person speaks in relation to their audience. A
speaker modifies their language register to signal
levels of formality according to their relationship to
their audience and intended purpose of speech.

03
Five (5) main types of linguistic
registers

• Frozen
• Formal
• Consultative
• Casual
• Intimate
 • FROZEN REGISTER
The frozen register, otherwise known as the static
register, is used for very old pieces of discourse, such as
wedding vows, readings from the bible, and
Shakespearean plays.

• FORMAL REGISTER
The formal register is often associated with
standardised versions of English and is used in formal
situations.
 • CONSULTATIVE REGISTER
The consultative register is usually used when
there is an expert-novice relationship between the two
people engaging in the conversation.

• CASUAL REGISTER
The casual register typically refers to informal
speech used between people who know each other
well.
 • INTIMATE REGISTER
The intimate register refers to the informal
language used when talking to close friends, family
members or romantic partners.
Language Register classified
as:

• Formal Language Register

• Informal Language Register
• Neutral Language Register
 • FORMAL LANGUAGE REGISTER
Appropriate for professional writing (i.e. business
letters, letters of complaint, official speeches)
DO’S & DON’TS
-do not use contractions (cannot instead of can’t)
-spell out numbers less than 100
-write in 3 POV
rd
-avoid passive verbs, slangs, idioms, exaggerations,
abbreviations, acronyms
-use good transitional devices
-write in complete sentences
 • INFORMAL LANGUAGE REGISTER
Conversational and appropriate writing to friends and
people you know well (i.e. personal e-mails, short
notes, diaries, journals

• NEUTRAL LANGUAGE REGISTER

Not necessarily formal or informal; used to deliver
facts (i.e. articles, reviews)
 A 'variety' in language studies is a specific
form of language. This can include different
dialects, styles, and accents. Examples of
English varieties include American English,
British English, and Australian English.
Different Kinds of Language
Varieties

• Pidgin
• Creole
• Regional Dialect
• Minority Dialect
• Indigenized Varieties
 • PIDGIN
A pidgin is a new language which develops in situations
where speakers of different languages need to
communicate but don’t share a common language (i.e.
Pidgin Signed English)

• CREOLE
When children start learning a pidgin as their first
language and it becomes the mother tongue of a
community, it is called a creole.
 • REGIONAL DIALECT
A regional dialect is not a distinct language but a variety of
a language spoken in a particular area of a country (i.e.
Liverpool British, Manchester English, Hiligaynon,
Cebuano, Tagalog, Waray

• 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.
 • INDIGENIZED VARIETY
Indigenized varieties are spoken as second
languages in ex-colonies with multilingual populations
(i.e. Singlish or Singaporean English
• Standard English is the form of English
that is widely recognised and accepted as
the ‘correct’ form.
• Non-standard English is more flexible and
informal, it allows for deviations from
standard rules. Dialects, slang, contractions,
and regional variations fall under this
category.
REFERENCES:

• https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english/lan
guage-and-social-groups/register-and-style/

• https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english/lan
guage-and-social-groups/variety-vs-standard-
english/#:~:text=Examples%20of%20varieties%20of%2
0Standard,understood%20by%20all%20English%20sp
eakers.

• https://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/definitions/in
dex.html