VARIETIES AND REGISTER OF SPOKEN AND WRITTEN
LANGUAGE the acrolect and basilect.
VARIETIES IN ENGLISH
The famous “Three Concentric Circles of Asian Englishes”
attributed to Kachru presents the three circles:
 Inner Circle with ENL (English as a native
Language) - thus represents the traditional
historical and sociolinguistic bases of English in
regions where it is now used as a primary language.
 Outer Circle with ESL (English as a second
language) - English is not the native tongue, but
serves as a useful lingua franca between ethnic and
language groups.
 Expanding Circle with EFL (English as a Foreign
Language) - encompasses countries where English
plays no historical or governmental role, but where
it is nevertheless widely used as a medium of
international communication.
 It is then to be understood that people have
different linguistic and cultural backgrounds
making intercultural communication a significant
variable in communication.
 In terms of social features, differences can also
be highlighted in that there is continuum of
basilectal, Mesolectal, and acrolectal varieties of
English within the same speech community.
ACROLECT- comes closest to the standard.
BASILECT- digresses thoroughly from it and
comes closest to the pidgin.
MESOLECT- the middle variety is midway between
 From the variety of English used by the native
speakers such as British, Americans, Canadians,
Australians, and New Zealanders, English has
evolved into post colonial varieties and should not
be mistaken as errors most especially if they have
become the standard in the speech community and
have been codified.
LANGUAGE REGISTERS/ REGISTERS OF ENGLISH
David Crystal (2008) defines register as “a variety of
language defined according to its use in social
situations.
When it comes to language variation, the terms genre,
register, and style are often encountered.
STYLE – refers to the degree of formality attached to
particular interpersonal social situation which is
reflected by differences in language.
REGISTER- refers to a kind of language whose forms
are of definable social situation, regardless of the
status of the participants.
GENRE- is associated more with the organization of
culture, register is associated with the organization of
situation.
 Field- may be analyzed in terms of the social
setting and the communicative purpose in
which the text is produced.
 Tenor – may be described in terms of the
roles required of the writers and readers
including the cultural values shared by both.
 Mode – explained in light of the knowledge of
other texts required of speakers/listeners
and writers/readers as regards the genre
including the formal text features.
Language register then refers to the formality of
language which one speaks.
Formal language- is used in formal speaking and
writing situations.
Informal language- is more casual in tone, is
appropriate for people with whom you have
established a more personal relationship as in the
case of friends and relatives.