Understanding Registers: Choosing the Right Language for Any Situation
This lesson explores the concept of linguistic registers, focusing on the degree of formality suitable for various contexts. It introduces five distinct registers on a continuum from intimate to oratorical/frozen. You will learn how to determine which register to use based on the situation and the emotional or physical distance between speaker/writer and listener/reader. Each register is characterized by its unique language style, from the casualness between friends to the impersonal nature of legal language. Discover how to effectively communicate by mastering these registers.
Understanding Registers: Choosing the Right Language for Any Situation
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Presentation Transcript
Register Commentary Lesson 11
What is it? • The degree of formality suitable for the situation or the writing required
Five Registers • On a continuum, they range from intimate to oratorical (frozen). Intimate Oratorical/Frozen Formal Informal
How do you know what to use? • The choice of register depends on • the situation one is in. • the “distance” (either physical or emotional) between the speaker/writer and the listener/reader.
Intimate • The language used by lovers and and by adults to small children or pets • Nearly always accompanied by touch • Consists of broken fragments of words such as “mmm,” “nice,” “there’s a good boy,” and so on
Casual • The language used among friends and family • There is little/no planning of what is to be said • Sentences are not always grammatical • There will be inside jokes and references • Can be accompanied, but fleetingly, by touch
Consultative • The language used in class discussions, meetings, and seminars • There is more forethought and organization given to what is being said • Attention signals are asked for and given • One expects an occasional “yes” or head nod as a response • Sentences may not always be grammatically correct • Ideas may shift mid sentence • Contractions and abbreviations used regularly
Deliberative • The language one would find in an essay, scholarly work, or public lecture where the lecturer is reading a prepared set of notes • No verbal attention signals are expected • The speaker will expect the audience to look at him/her • The words have been planned across sentences and paragraphs • Often uses passive voice • Less likelihood of abbreviations and contractions
Oratorical or “Frozen” • Totally impersonal • Completely prepared • The language used in law courts and church ceremonies • Sometimes the words can change a person’s legal status • “I now pronounce you man and wife.”
Five ways of saying it. . . • Intimate: “Sshhh!” • Casual: “Shut up!” • Consultative: “Please be quiet!” • Deliberative: “Silence, please!” • Oratorical or “Frozen”: “Silence in the court!”
Using Register to Create Humor • Comedians use the wrong register to create humor. • A workman who has just been hit by a tool dropped by a fellow workman does not say, “I way, old chap, could you be a wee bit more careful?”
