Register, Style and Bar Eriok

some relevant Okutman

terms Nevehir Hac Bekta Veli

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Bu almada, register, style, field, speech style,

style shifting, slang, dialect, jargon gibi kavramlar
yer almaktadr

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Register (n.) (2) In stylistics and sociolinguistics, the term refers to a variety of language defined
according to its use in social situations, e.g. a register of scientific, religious, formal English. In
Hallidayan linguistics, the term is seen as specifically opposed to varieties of language defined
according to the characteristics of the users (viz. their regional or class dialect), and is given a
subclassification into field, mode and manner of discourse (Crystal, 2008:409).

Field (n.) (2) In Hallidayan linguistics, field of discourse (or simply, field) refers to a classification of
registers in terms of subject-matter, e.g. the fields of chemistry, religion, advertising (Crystal,
2008:188).
Style (n.) (2) In the Hallidayan classification of language varieties, style (more fully, style of discourse)
refers to the relations among the participants in a language activity, especially the level of formality
they adopt (colloquial, formal, etc.) (Crystal, 2008:308).
Style (n.) A situation dialect, e.g., formal speech, casual speech; also called register. (Fromkin,
Rodman, Hyams, 2011:595).
Register (n.) A stylistic variant of a language appropriate to a particular social setting. Also called style
(Fromkin, Rodman, Hyams, 2011:591).
Register (n.) A conventional way of using language that is appropriate in a specific situation,
occupation or topic, characterized by the use of special jargon (George, Y. 2006:259).

Speech style A way of speaking that is either formal/careful or informal/casual (George, Y. 2006:295).
The most basic distinction in speech style is between formal uses and informal uses. Formal style is
when we pay more careful attention to how were speaking and informal style is when we pay less
attention. They are sometimes described as careful style and casual style. (George, Y. 2006:257).

Style-shifting: changing speech style from formal to informal or vice versa (George, Y. 2006:295). A
change from one to the other by an individual is called style-shifting.

According to Ronald Wardhaughs An Introduction to Sociolinguistics book, the study of dialects is

further complicated by the fact that speakers can adopt different styles of speaking. You can speak very
formally or very informally, your choice being governed by circumstances. Ceremonial occasions
almost invariably require very formal speech, public lectures somewhat less formal, casual conversation
quite informal, and conversations between intimates on matters of little importance may be extremely
informal and casual. (See Joos,1962, for an entertaining discussion.) We may try to relate the level of
formality chosen to a variety of factors: the kind of occasion; the various social, age, and other
differences that exist between the participants; the particular task that is involved, e.g., writing or
speaking; the emotional involvement of one or more of the participants; and so on. We appreciate that

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such distinctions exist when we recognize the stylistic appropriateness of What do you intend to do,
your majesty? and the inappropriateness of Waddya intend doin, Rex? While it may be difficult to
characterize discrete levels of formality, it is nevertheless possible to show that native speakers of all
languages control a range of stylistic varieties. It is also quite possible to predict with considerable
confidence the stylistic features that a native speaker will tend to employ on certain occasions
(Wardhaugh, 2006:51).
Register is another complicating factor in any study of language varieties. Registers are sets of language
items associated with discrete occupational or social groups. Surgeons, airline pilots, bank managers,
sales clerks, jazz fans, and pimps employ different registers. As Ferguson (1994, p. 20) says, People
participating in recurrent communication situations tend to develop similar vocabularies, similar
features of intonation, and characteristic bits of syntax and phonology that they use in these situations.
This kind of variety is a register (Wardhaugh, 2006:52).
Style
1. The Definition of Style
According to Janet Holmes, 2001 the definitions of style are:
a. Style is language variation which reflects changes in situational factors, such as
addressee, setting, task or topic.
b. Style is often analysed along scale of formality.
c. The level of formality is influenced by some factors like the various differences among
the participants, topic, emotional, involvement, etc.

Wolfram & Schilling-Estes (1998:214) define language style quite similarly, as variation in the speech
of individual speakers".
Bell (1997:240) is somewhat clearer in emphasizing the linguistic elements: style is "the range of
variation within the speech of an individual speaker".

By these statement above, so we can conclude that style is the variants in the speech which is used in
certain situation or form of the language used for the same purpose under certain circumstances.
2. Addressee as an influence on style
a. Age of addressee
People generally talk to very young and to the very old.
b. Social background of addressee
People talk differently to the higher class and to the lower class.
Register
Register is the language used at any given moment; and depend on: what do you do, by whom and by
what means. Register indicates the type of social process is going on. Registers can simply be described

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as variations of the language according to its use, while the dialect as a language variation based on
users registers on this concept is not limited to the choice of words (such as the notion registers in the
traditional theory) but also includes the choice of the use of text structure, and texture: cohesion and
teksikogramatical , as well as phonology or graphology choice. Because the register covers all aspects
of language or linguistic choices, many linguists refer to registers as a style or a style of language.
Variations in language choice of the register depend on the context of the situation, which includes
three variables: field (domain), tenor (context) and mode (infrastructure) which works simultaneously
to form a configuration or configures contextual meaning.
1. How to study Register
In their book Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Register, Douglas Biber and Edward Finegan
provide an analytic framework to follow when studying register. Biber begins with his
definition of register as being a general cover term for all language varieties associated
with different situations and purposes. The framework should include and distinguish
between characteristics of linguistic and non-linguistic factors and should use these
differences for a classification of register.
The factor of addressor(s), which can be the writer or speaker is important in
register. This can be a singular person; several people, as in a co-authored work; or
institutional, as in departmental or government document. Next, we must examine the
relations between the addressor and addressee, taking into account the social role each
participant maintains. Age, occupation, and shared knowledge, whether on the topic and/or
personal background, all play important parts in determining this relationship.
When and where the communication takes place is referred to as setting. Biber
identifies settings with a particular context of use or domain. He distinguishes six primary
domains:
business and workplace,
education and academic,
government and legal,
religious,
art and entertainment and
domestic/personal
Within each of these areas, there exists a public and a private setting. Technology
such as TV, radio, or any type of mass media can be used to represent or present these domains.
It must be taken into account that a difference among registers may arise when the time of
communication and place are shared, as in direct conversation in the presence of each other.

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Participants can share time and be familiar with, but not actually share place, as in a telephone
conversation.
Another factor important in differentiating among registers is the different purposes,
intents, and goals of the addressor.

Relevant Terms

Register (Style): The level of formality used when speaking and writing. Most peakers of a
language know how to use many dialects, using one with friends, another when on a job
interview or presenting a report in class, and another with talking with family. These are
situational dialects, also called registers or styles.
Slang: An informal style of speech. Combining old words to elicit a more current meaning
often creates slang terms. "Spaced out," "right on," "hang-ups," and "rip off" have all gained
acceptances as slang terms. Slang terms may also introduce an entirely new word to the
language; examples include "barf" and "poop." Finally, slang often ascribes totally new
meanings to old words. Some examples of these type of slang words are as follows: grass/pot
= marijuana, pig = police officer, sticks = legs. Words such as "rap," "cool," "dig," "stoned,"
and "split" have extended their semantic domain as well.
Jargon: Words peculiar to a professional realm, science, trade, or occupation. Words such as
"ROM," "RAM," "morf," "modem," "bit," and "byte" were once computer jargon and only
understood by computer technicians, but they are now understood by a large segment of the
population.
Situational Switching: the act of changing one's register to match the setting, situation,
addressee, or topic.

Some Types of Registers

Formal Register: A type of register that incorporates Standard American English and is used
by professionals or in situations where people are not familiar with one another.
Informal Register: A type of register used with more familiar people in casual
conversation. In the informal style of register, contractions are used more often, rules of
negation and agreement may be altered, and slang or colloquialisms may be used. Informal
register also permits certain abbreviations and deletions, but they are rule governed. For
example, deleting the "you" subject and the auxiliary often shorten questions. Instead of
asking, "Are you running in the marathon," a person might ask, "Running the marathon?"
Over-formal Register: A type of register that can be characterized by the use of a false high-
pitched nasal voice. For example, a woman might approach another woman whom she does
not really like and ask her cordially in a high-pitched voice, "How are you doing?"
Motherese: A type of register characterized by high-pitched, elongated sounds and "sing-
song" intonation. It is used when people speak to infants, young children, or pets.

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Reporting Register: A type of register characterized by easily observable verbal and non-
verbal cues: flat intonation, rapid rate of speech, relatively low pitch, absence of marked facial
expressions, and gestures.

Annotated Bibliography

Biber, Douglas, and Edward Finegan. Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Register. New

York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
This book gives detailed information on registers and its variations.
It also includes examples of social dialects and children's language.
The authors give in-depth information on the various forms of register. The book ends with a
survey of Empirical Register studies.
Di Pietro, Robert J., ed. Linguistics and the Professions. Norwood: Ablex Publishing
Corporation, 1982.
This book is a collection of essays in the field of applied linguistics. These essays
explore societal functions of language, the pragmatics of speech acts, and the analysis
of discourse.
Fromkin, Victoria and Robert Rodman. An Introduction to Language. Fort
Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998.
Written by two professors, this book is used as a textbook in linguistic courses to
introduce linguistics and the study of human language. It includes information on the
brain and the production of language, grammatical aspects of language, psychology
of language, and results of psycholinguistic studies of language processing.
Labov, William. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1972.
The first part of this book contains reports of Labovs research on his study of inner-
city African American youth in Marthas Vineyard and New York. The rest of the
book is dedicated to presenting the ideas of other scholars that developed from
Labovs initial study of Black English.
Pride, J.B., ed. Sociolinguistic Aspects of Language Learning and
Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.
This book is a collection of papers written by linguists and scholars for prospective
teachers of English as a foreign language who would like to understand more about
the sociolinguistic aspects of the English language. The book is divided into four
sections with each section beginning with a paper that serves as the introduction to
that section. The book also stresses the importance of learning and understanding
both a first and a second language.
Trudgill, Peter. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and
Society. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1983.
This book illustrates how class, race, religion, environment, and region are
determinants of language differences, and how language indirectly affects
society. Trudgill considers varieties of spoken English and other foreign languages
in his study of grammar, dialect, accent, and other linguistic phenomena.
Wootton, Anthony. Dilemmas of Discourse: Controversies about the Sociological
Interpretation of Language. New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers.
This book is devoted to clarifying certain myths, controversies, and other issues
surrounding recent approaches taken by sociologists when analyzing speech. The
book is divided into six sections: Language, Concepts and Description,
Components of Meaning, Rules, Norms and Speech Acts, Ethnomethodology,

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Language and Social Class: Vocabularies of Motive, and Sociology, Language

and Descriptive.

References

Hunt, Ellen, et al. "Register." All American: Literature, History, and Culture. 1999.
http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/1914-/language/register.htm (05.05.2014).

George, Y. (2006). The Study of Language. Fourth Edition Cambridge University Press

Fromkin, V., Rodman, R. & Hyams, N. (2011). An Introduction to Language. Wadsworth, Cengage
Learning Ninth Edition Canada

Crystal, D. (2008) A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Sixth Edition, Blackwell Publishing

Wardhaugh, R. (2006) An Introduction to Sociolinguistics Blackwell Publishing

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