IA

1. CAPE COMMUNICATION
STUDIES
LANGUAGE REGISTERS

2. A simple observation:
In different situations,
people use different forms
of language.

3. Depending on the situation,
we use
 different words and phrases
For example, to refer to death:
died, passed away, passed, passed on, moved on,
expired, croaked, bought the farm, passed from
life temporal to life spiritual, went to meet her
Maker, be taken, meet one’s end, perish
 different grammatical patterns
 Gimme a dime.
 Could I trouble you for the time?
 Do call me.

4. How do we start to analyze
register?
Depending on the situation –
So - look first at the components of the situation.
What is actually taking place? Where?
Who is taking part? What is their relationship?
What part is language playing?

5. Consider:
Social setting
Situation
Addressor
Addressee
Topic
who, what, when, where

6. A fancy academic definition
The concept of register is typically
concerned with variations in language
conditioned by uses rather than users and
involves consideration of the situation or
context of use, the purpose, subject-
matter and content of the message, and
the relationship between the participants.
Suzanne Romaine, 1994

7. Register refers to:
 the variations in language which reflect
 the particular situation
 the goals of the communication
 the relationship between the speakers
 power
 education
 intimacy

8. Joos’ Five Clocks
The concept of register has been around a long
time.
 introduced in the 50’s.
 Martin Joos’ outlined it clearly in his 1961
book The Five Clocks.
 quoted, referred to, kicked around by many
others: Cheryl Carter, Suzanne Romaine, and
also Ruby Payne in her book A Framework for
Understanding Poverty.

9. Frozen Register
 printed, unchanging language, formal, almost
scripted phrases that do not vary
• Can’t change the words.
• Very respectful
 Examples:
The Bible
The Lord’s Prayer
The Pledge of Allegiance
Laws, Announcement in airports
Poetry

10. Formal Register
 One way communication, no interruptions
 Used in impersonal, formal settings
 Follows a commonly accepted format - complete
sentences, more complex syntax and specific word
usages
 Often used to show respect
 Examples:
 Introductions between strangers
 Rhetorical statements and questions
 Speeches, pronouncements made by judges,
 Announcements, essay, research paper
 standard for work, school, public offices and business settings

11. Consultative Register
 Two way participation, professional setting
 Background information is provided (prior
knowledge is not assumed).
 Interruptions and feedback fillers allowed
(“uh-huh”, “I see”).
 More complex syntax, longer phrases
 Examples
 Doctor:patient, lawyer:client, lawyer:judge,
 Teacher:student,
 Superior:subordinate
 Colleagues, peers

12. Consultative Register
•Standard academic two-way
communication
•Usually polite and courteous
•Ex: discussions, questions &
answers in the classroom
or conversation
on-the-job

13. Casual
 Very informal language, ellipsis and slang are common
 No background information provided
 “group” language – must be a member to use
 Interruptions common
 Nonstandard one-way and two-way communication
 Context and non-verbal communication important
 Examples:
 friends and acquaintances
 family
 teammates
 chats and blogs

14. Intimate
 Non-public
 Intonation as important as wording and
grammar
 Examples: nicknames, special terms,
excludes others and has its own code
 Often a private vocabulary
 Examples:
 husband, wife
 boyfriend/girlfriend
 twins (siblings)
 pets, I would also add
Interesting to note here, this is the
language of sexual harassment as well.

15. Some rules of register use:
Moving from one register to another
is OK – as long as you only go to the
adjacent level.
More than that and you are in trouble
– your language use is seen as
inappropriate or even offensive.

16. Greetings in different registers
 Frozen: I want to welcome you to the Closer
Connections Conference, sponsored in part by
Dakota TESL and SDALL.
 Formal: Good morning. I’ll let Dr. Jones know
you are here.
 Consultative: Hello Mr. Smith. How are you
doing this morning?
 Casual: Hey, Jack. What’s up?
 Intimate: How’s my little puppy today?

17. Requests in different registers
 Frozen: Please submit the information at
your earliest convenience.
 Formal: Could you possibly type this up for
me by tomorrow?
 Consultative: Can you finish this after lunch?
 Casual: Watch the door for me, OK?
 Intimate: Hey, darlin’, pour me a cuppa joe.

18. Encouragement in different
registers
 Frozen: As you commence this endeavor, I
offer you all my prayers and support.
 Formal: Thank you for applying for this
position. We will let you know in a week if you
have been chosen for an interview.
 Consultative: Thanks for following up on the
Jones account. Great job!
 Casual: Whoa, way to go! Nice catch!
 Intimate: You are so sweet. I’m crazy about
you, honey!

19. Partings in different registers
 Frozen:
Farewell, and godspeed.
 Formal:
Goodbye. We look forward to seeing you
again.
 Consultative:
Goodbye. Have a good weekend.
 Casual:
Bye now – take care.
 Intimate:
later, darlin’.

20. How do we know what register to
use?
 How does this work?
 Language is behavior
 Part of our cultural code, unwritten rules
 Taught explicitly to children (and teens!)
 Absorbed as we mature
 Labored over consciously as we get older
 in academic settings, or writing speeches
 other?
 Mostly – we both learn registers and slip between
them without conscious thought. It is part of
being fluent in a language.

21. So the Casual Register for a group of christian
teenagers is quite different from the
register of a group of non christians.
These would be differences in vocabulary
(slang), grammar, intonation and usage and the
differences might be quite fluid, changing
often.

22. BUT!
There is little room for variation at the
top of the pyramid.
The Frozen Register is just that – frozen. No creative
melting or thawing allowed.
The Formal Register is close to that, and, I would
argue, is based on upper middle class formal English –
again, the class in power.
Language is all about power, remember?

23. Language is all about power
To re-visit this idea –
We mark and judge people immediately upon
speaking with them. We make judgements about
 their education
 their background
 their income
 their intelligence
We adjust ourselves in our relationship to them,
according to each piece of linguistic information we
receive.

24. EXPECTATIONS keeping in mind language = power
We expect people in authority to speak a
certain way, using the formal register.
 Businessmen
 Politicians
 Supervisors, administrators
 Professors, teachers
 Professionals (doctors, lawyers)
 TV Newscasters
We would be disappointed and disconcerted and
distrustful if they did not.

25. A simple truth
You must master the upper registers if you
want to get to certain upper positions in
Jamaican society.
(music stars, athletes and some other groups.
They seem to have a ticket to ignore language
register requirements.)

26. What does this mean?
First some background.
Every language has different registers. Many
mark them more overtly than English does.
Romance languages – tu/vous in French,
tu/usted in Spanish, tu/lei in Italian

27. Talk about it
 Point out examples in the language
around us.
 listen for polite phrases or informal
phrases in a listening exercise or when
you have a guest speaker or a school
assembly.

28. The End.
Hope you found this interesting.