1.

1 Understanding context, audience

and purpose
Register, Standard English and
differences between spoken and
written language

© Cambridge University Press 2019

 Register

• Register describes variations in language use, e.g.

lawyers use a legal register, scientists use a scientific
register. Can you think of others?
• Register has three facets:
o Mode – spoken or written, or electronic mode
(e.g. text messaging has elements of both speech
and writing)
o Manner – the formality or informality of the context
o Field – the topic or subject matter.

© Cambridge University Press 2019

 Standard English and
non-standard English

• Standard English is a form of English accepted as a

norm. It carries social prestige and tends to be used in
formal contexts.
• Non-standard English are any varieties of English that
do not use the same vocabulary and grammar as
Standard English.
Linguists distinguish between Standard English and non-
standard English to avoid prescriptive attitudes
(‘correct/right’ vs ‘incorrect/wrong’) in describing
language use.
© Cambridge University Press 2019
 A continuum of spoken and written
language features
informal formal
context-dependent context-independent
social focus purpose focus
spontaneous pre-planned
dialogue monologue
no record permanent record
private public

Can you think of examples of spoken and written language

that would be placed at different points along the line?
© Cambridge University Press 2019
 Core
elem
ents

Purpose
Audience

Register

Mode
spoken  electronic  written
Manner
Informal Formal
Field (topic)
Meaning of language in context
© Cambridge University Press 2019
Differences between spoken and written language
Spoken
Spontaneous, transient
Usually face-to-face
Combined with body language, gestures, facial
expressions, posture, i.e. non-verbal
communication (paralinguistic features)
Deictic expressions related to present situation
(e.g. this one, like this, here)
Interruptions, overlaps
Usually unplanned
Usually unstructured with repetitions, rephrasing
or errors
Informal lexical choices unless formal context
Grammatical boundaries marked by intonation and
pauses
Voice volume, tone and stress (prosodic features)
aid communication
Used in developing social relationships
Written
Permanent
May be aimed at unknown audience
No immediate feedback. Not happening in real time
so writing must be clear otherwise ambiguity can
result
Self-contained references all in text as reading
context will differ for readers
One-way communication
Pre-planned
Drafting means errors can be corrected
Context may require formal lexical choices
Grammatical boundaries marked by punctuation
and layout
Graphological features, e.g. capitalising,
underlining, exclamation marks used to convey
stress and attitude
Used for permanent records of facts, ideas and
literature
 Top down and bottom up

What is the Assessing the overall meaning and

overall context can lead to identification
meaning of of specific language features
the language which can be evaluated for
in context? effectiveness.

What specific
Identification of specific uses of language
vocabulary, grammar etc. can reveal features are
the overall meaning of a text and the used?
speaker’s/writer’s purpose(s).
© Cambridge University Press 2019