1. Register & Style
Assignment of: sociolinguistics
Assignment topic :register and style
Submitted on: 12th dec.2012
Page 1 of 17

2. Register & Style
In sociolinguistics, a general term for any distinctive form of a language or linguistic expression
is Language varieties. Linguists commonly use language variety, as a cover term for any of the
overlapping subcategories of a language, including dialect, idiolect, register, and social dialect.
It's clear that there are many systematic differences between different languages. By
“systematic” we mean describable by rules. Languages also contain many levels of internal
variation, related to such variables as age, region, socioeconomic status, group identification,
and others. Internal Variation is the property of languages having different ways of expressing
the same meaning. Importantly, this refers to within language, not across language, differences.
In spite of internal variation there are two major varieties of language i.e. dialect and register.
According to M.A.K. Halliday, there are two main types of variation in language, social and
functional. Dialects are characterized by social or regional variation
Dialect is a complex concept, for linguists a dialect is the collection of attributes (phonetic,
phonological, syntactic, morphological, and semantic) that make one group of speakers
noticeably different from another group of speakers of the same language. So dialect is a variety
related to user. A dialect spoken by one individual is called an idiolect. Everyone has small
differences between their language and the language which people use to communicate, creating
a minimal dialect".1
Every native speaker is normally in command of several different language styles, called
registers, which are varied according the formality of the occasion, and the medium used
(speech, writing, or sign).
The register and style are the study objects of our project. The major purpose of selecting this
topic is to understand the significance of different registers impinge on English language. Style
distributes English language in two categories i.e. formal and vernacular. So, register and style
being the foundation of our venture allows appreciating different varieties in English language.
1
http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/
Page 2 of 17

3. Register & Style
Halliday the father of register, defines it as the relationship between language (and other semiotic
forms) and the features of the context. Register is also used to indicate degrees of formality in
language use. Register is a semantic phenomenon in the sense that „register is the clustering of
semantic features according to situation type‟. As Figure 1 shows, the semantic stratum is, for
Halliday, where language interfaces with the eco-social environment. At this interface, register is
„the necessary mediating concept that enables us to establish the continuity between a text and its
socio semiotic environment‟.
Halliday’s
Register
2
The concept of linguistic register has been described by Trudgill as follows:
“Linguistic varieties that are linked to occupations, professions or topics have been termed
registers. The register of law, for example, is different from the register of medicine, which in
turn is different from the language of engineering and so on. Registers are usually characterized
2
http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1634&context=artspapers&sei-
redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dregister%2Baccording%
2Bto%2Bhalliday%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D%26bih%3D%26gbv%3D2%26gs_l%3Dheirloom-
hp.3.2.0l10.5833.13757.0.16700.19.14.1.4.5.0.554.2850.3j5j4j1j0j1.14.0...0.0...1c.1.ZzFcyYEmZ
H8%26oq%3Dregister%2Baccording%2B#search=%22register%20according%20halliday%22
Page 3 of 17

4. Register & Style
solely by vocabulary differences; either by the use of particular words, or by the use of words in
a particular sense.”3
Registers are kind of language produced by the social situation. As Ferguson said, “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.”
Halliday categorized linguistic features (specific expressions, lexico-grammatical and
phonological features) in the three dimensions of field, mode and tenor which help to determine
the functional variety of a language .These three parameters can be used to specify the context of
situation in which language is used. Field, tenor and mode are called register variables and a
description of the values for each of these variables at a given time of language use is a register
description of a text4.
Field of discourse is defined as “the total event, in which the text is functioning, together with
the purposive activity of the speaker or writer; it thus includes the subject-matter as one
element in it”. The field describes activities and processes that are happening at the time of
speech. The analysis of this parameter focuses on the entire situation, e.g. when a mother talks to
her child. The field of discourse has to do with the focus of the activity, in which we are
engaged, to recognize the culture. It refers to what is happening, to the nature of the social action
that is taking place, what the participants are engaged in.
Similarly, Gregory and Carroll state that the field of discourse is the consequence of the user's
purposive role, what his language is about, what experience he is verbalizing, what is going on
through language. Sometimes field can be glossed as the topic of the situation but Martin's
defines it in terms of institutional focus, or social activity type is more useful to capture the field
in situations where language is accompanying action.
3
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/messeas/regrep/node2.html
4
Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses
http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/5174/1/RAEI_19_09.pdf
Page 4 of 17

5. Register & Style
In the educational and training world, knowledge is most commonly presented linguistically (the
study of language), so perhaps this mode receives the most attention from a learning standpoint
(Chomsky, 1988). The linguistic mode includes verbal communication, reading, watching (e.g.
learn the rule of chess through observation), etc 5
The mode of discourse refers to “the function of the text in the event, including therefore
both the channel taken by the language – spoken or written, extempore or prepared – and
its [genre], or rhetorical mode, as narrative, didactic, persuasive, ‘phatic communion’ and
so on” according to Halliday this variable determines the role and function of language in a
particular situation. When analyzing the mode of a text, the main question is „What is achieved
by the use of language in this context?‟ For example, a fairy tale (in written form) may have a
narrative or entertaining function. A spoken conversation can be argumentative (in a discussion)
or phatic (e.g. to contact someone or to keep in touch with someone). Mode refers to the channel
of communication6. Modes are divided in two categories‟: The Nonlinguistic Mode, The
Affective Mode
Richardson suggested that the non linguistic memory includes mental pictures, smell, kinesthetic,
tactile, auditory, and taste. At first, we might believe that they are entirely different structures;
however these representations are quite similar to each other in that these nonlinguistic
sensations function in a similar fashion in permanent memory .
According to (Stuss & Benson,) affective mode is our feeling, emotions, and mood 7
Tenor of discourse sometimes also referred to as style according to Esser, describing the people
that take part in an event as well as their relationships and statuses. According to Halliday “The
tenor refers to the type of role interaction, the set of relevant social relations, permanent and
temporary, among the participants involved” There might be a specific hierarchy between the
interlocutors, e.g. when the head of a business talks to an employee, or they may have only a
temporary relationship, e.g. when a person asks an unknown pedestrian for the time.
5
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/theories.html
6
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/faculty/kleifgen/tech_n_lit/notes_ftm_halliday.htm
7
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/theories.html
Page 5 of 17

6. Register & Style
The tenor of discourse is defined in terms of the players, the actors or rather the interacting roles
that are involved in the creation of the text. It refers to who is taking part, to the nature of the
participants, their status and role: what kinds of role relationship obtain among the participants,
including permanent and temporary relationships of one kind or another, both the types of speech
role that they are taking on in the dialogue and the whole cluster of socially significant
relationships in which they are involved. This relationship that the speaker establishes with the
audience in relation to the tenor of discourse has been emphasized by Gregory and Carroll as
well.8
Halliday suggested that of all the uses we make of language, language is intended to fulfill three
main functions: a function for relating experience (experiential), a function for creating
interpersonal relationships (interpersonal) and a function for organizing information (textual)
(Eggins, 1994, 2004).
Relation of the text to the context of situation (Halliday, 1989b: 26).9
SITUATION Realized by TEXT:
Feature of the context Functional component of
semantic system
Field of discourse Experiential meanings:
(what is going on)
(Transitivity, naming, etc.)
Tenor of discourse Interpersonal meanings:
(who are taking part)
(Mood, modality, person, etc.)
Mode of discourse Textual meanings:
(role assigned to language)
(theme, information, cohesive
relations)
8
Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses
http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/5174/1/RAEI_19_09.pdf
9
http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/5174/1/RAEI_19_09.pdf
Page 6 of 17

7. Register & Style
Studying these variations is not only reveals a great deal about speaker‟s strategies with respect
to variables such as social class, gender, ethnicity, and age. It also affords us the opportunity to
observe the linguistic change in progress.
In sociolinguistics, a style is a set of linguistic variants to which specific social meanings are
10
attributed. The study of sociolinguistic variation examines the relation between social identity
and ways of speaking.
Style is the study object (but not the only one) of stylistics. What style is has always been open to
dispute. The word style may be known to many human beings and they may be able to describe
fairly easily what it means. Nevertheless, the multiplicity and complexity goes far beyond the
word itself. The following are examples of some renowned linguists and their definitions and
concepts.
Leech and Short defines style as “the way in which language is used in a given context, by a
11
given person, for a given purpose, and so on.” According to leech‟s definition style may be
seen as a particular way of speaking. Style therefore refers to the wide range of strategic actions
and performances that speakers engage in, to construct them and their social live.
Style Includes the Word choice; author‟s choice of words and Syntax, the way words are
arranged to form sentences. Syntax encompasses word order, sentence length, sentence focus,
and punctuation. Wales stresses that style “is distinctive: in essence, the set or sum of linguistic
features that seem to be characteristic: whether of register, genre or period etc”.
Carter and Stockwell demonstrates style as” an Ornamentation of the sense of an utterance”
but many linguists reject this idea and says that it is always motivated, for example, by the
speaker’s personal choices and belief systems and socio-cultural factors at every level.
There are Five Main Language Styles including the ultra-formal style, a very formal way of
addressing an audience, using archaic language (Thou, Hath, Thee, etc.)
10
http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam031/00068947.pdf
11
KEY TERMS IN STYLISTICS by NINA NORGAARD, BEATRIX BUSSE AND ROCIO MONTORO
Page 7 of 17

8. Register & Style
The Formal Style :
The Formal Style Difficult words (abstract nouns) examples, Liberty, hegemony, sanctification,
etc.
Complex sentences with clauses example “He had been prepared to lie, to bluster, and to remain
sullenly unresponsive; but, reassured by the good-humored intelligence of the Controller‟s face,
he decided to tell the truth, straightforwardly.” Aldous Huxley, Brave New World.
The Modified Formal Style:
The Modified Formal Style a greater number of plain English words Active voice used rather
than passive: Active: The girl walked the dog. Passive: The dog was walked by the girl. The use
of abbreviated verb forms wouldn‟t, can‟t, shouldn‟t etc.
The Colloquial Style :
The Colloquial Style Everyday English- words you would use when talking to your
friends/family. Filler words used: E.g. Like, know what I mean, o.k., etc. Shorter more assertive
sentences: This is crazy!
The ultra-colloquial style:
The ultra-colloquial style VERY CASUAL Speaking style (easy words): e.g: Yo, How‟s it
goin‟? Omits main verbs: Whatcha gonna do? He [would] like to go but he can‟t. Omits little
function words (a, of, to):
Style also includes stylistic devices like hyperbole, imagery, irony, etc. Phonology: alliteration,
assonance Graphology: presentational devices: bullets, block capitals for headlines, etc
Allan Bell, a linguist from New Zealand, developed a model for the analysis of stylistic variation
known as audience design. He claimed that in designing our style of speech at any particular
time, we assess the sociolinguistic characteristics of our addressees and adapt the way we speak
to conform to these characteristics.
Page 8 of 17

9. Register & Style
In accordance with style, Nick Coupland investigated the extent to which an assistant in a travel
agency in Cardiff, Wales shifted her speech to match that of social class of her clients. One of the
variables he studied was the glottalisation of (t), and the result of this part of his study has been
shown in the fig. these results show how the assistant altered her use of this variable quite
radically when speaking to clients of different social classes.
12
90
Client
80
Assistant
70
Percentage use of 60
(t)- glottalization
50
40
30
20
10
0
upper middle lower middle upper working lower working
Social class of client
Travel agency assistant‟s style shifting to clients: (t) glottalisation
The model of audience design helps to explain why people seem, to a non native ear, to „pick up‟
accent of places they stay in. British or north American English speaker spending a couple of
years in Australia would have a pre dominantly Australian English speaking audience, and would
accommodate to that variety so often when conversing that, to known Australians, they may
„sound like an Aussie‟. What this indicates, then, is that variation in language is constrained not
only by the social characteristics of the speaker, but also those of the addressee in any
conversation; variation is also internationally determined.
12
Linguistics An introduction by Andrew Radford, Martin Atkinson, David Britain, Harald
Clahsen, Andrew Spencer
Page 9 of 17

10. Register & Style
This assignment has offered a critical description of the linguist variation with great emphasis on
register including field, tenor, mode and style. Considering Halliday‟s reflection, I believe that
the approach I have brought along here from an integrated perspective, that every language is
interwoven with specific registers and style which can cannot be separated. Both register and
style help to develop the richness and universality in language.
In our project we have analyzed that any professor or a teacher has a specific style and register.
They use specific and clear accent, focuses on phonology and their specific style includes
expression less face, rigid look on face. We have also monitored the register of army that they
say Roger that on understanding any message instead of ok, counter for attack, words like head
quarters, nerve center are utilized instead of main office, raid for forced entry in any house.
There is a specific register for describing any part of body utilized by doctors. These types of
register are certainly alien for any common person in fact fulfilling the purpose of register. The
specific register employed by doctors is as follows;
Body Part Medical Term
Head Cranium
Forehead Frontalis
Eyeball Globe
Eye Socket Orbit
Eye Whites Cornea
Eye Color Ring Iris
Eye Hole Pupil
Ears Pinna
Ear Canal External Meatus
Nostrils Nares
Cheeks Malar region
Cheek Bone Zygomatic arch
Lips Labia
Page 10 of 17

11. Register & Style
Tongue Lingulus
Mouth Oral Cavity
Gums Gingiva
Chin Mentis
Teeth Dentition
A cosmetic is a wide field of study, particularly famous among girls. But the fact is that all girls
apply makeup but are still unaware of the exact names of the utensils used to apply makeup. Just
choosing the type of brushes in our project we have found out that there is a specific register for
even the makeup brushes a minor entity in whole field of cosmetics, about which most of the
people are still unaware. Types of brushes with their particular identity are as follows;
 FOUNDATION BRUSH: Designed to achieve a smooth and flawless finish, the bristles
are tightly packed with a tapered tip for fluid application.
 CONCEALER/CAMOUFLAGE BRUSH: A soft bristled, flat brush with a wider base
and a pointed tip.
Page 11 of 17

12. Register & Style
 DUO FIBRE BRUSH: Made from a blend of goat and synthetic fibers this brush is ideal
for buffing and blending color.
 BRONZER/POWDER BRUSH: Soft, full and rounded, this brush can be used for both
compact powder and bronzer.
 MINERAL POWDER BRUSH: A thick bundled brush that can sometimes be used both
wet and dry.
Page 12 of 17

13. Register & Style
 FAN POWDER BRUSH: Created for use with loose powder, the fine fan sweeps a light
dusting of powder onto the skin for a soft, velvety effect.
 BLUSHER BRUSH: Made with fine, gentle fibers the blusher brush has a rounded head
which is perfect for giving a pop of color to the apples of your cheeks
Our project focuses on another important register which is very common and handy but retaining
its specific terminology and vocabulary it retains its complexity, it is culinary items; items used
to cook food. The culinary items which we have chosen are knives. Specific names of each knife
are as follows;
1. Chef’s knife
It is used for chopping, slicing, precision cutting, crushing and carving.
Page 13 of 17

14. Register & Style
2. Cleaver
Cleavers are designed to force their way through bones like an axe.
3. Chinese cleaver
They are well suited to any chopping process but are very useful for slicing and precision cuts
such as julienne and chopping herbs.
Page 14 of 17

15. Register & Style
4. Boning knife
This knife is used for separating meat and connective tissue from bones during butchering and
trimming
5. Paring knife
It can be used for peeling and trimming, cutting and turning, garnishes and creative work,
including fruit and vegetable carving.
6. Turning knife
It has a curved blade it is most suited to shaping vegetables by turning.
Page 15 of 17

16. Register & Style
7. Palette knife
The straight blade is used principally for lifting, shaping and scraping.
8. Serrated slicer
This knife is a variation of the ham slicer and though it may be used to slice ham, it may produce
a rough looking product.
9. Decorating knife
This knife has a horizontally zigzagged edge, which enables decorative cuts and patterns to be
made generally in softer materials like margarine, butter and chocolate
10. Grapefruit knives
This is another specialized tool which is specifically designed to make a curved cut to loosen the
flesh of grapefruit from their skin for service.
Page 16 of 17

17. Register & Style
References
http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/content/II/1/45.extract
http://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/5174/1/RAEI_19_09.pdf
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/popcult/handouts/register/register.html
http://www.doctorsecrets.com/medical-terms/medical-terms-body-parts.html
http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/demosites/series4/409/tools/store/equip/k_type.ht
ml
Page 17 of 17