Style & Register

The topic of my today’s blog entry will be ‘Register’. It surely doesn’t sound like an easy thing to do and it may in fact seem a little bit boring at first sight but it definitely is not! There is a wide range of things to talk about concerning register.

At first, I want to give you a little introduction of what register actually is. Register is the level of formality used when speaking or writing. It is a variant of a language appropriate to a particular social setting and it is also called ‘style’. In different situations and when talking with different people it is important to use the right registers. Register, or social variation in speech, depends on the kind of speech event being engaged in, for example sales talk as compared to man-to-man talk, the roles of the various parties (talk to children compared with talk to adults), the topic of the discussion (children’s talk about toys compared with their talk about discipline) and the style of the discussion (informal or formal).

For this reason, there are different kinds of register, such as:

Formal Register

This style is impersonal and often follows a certain format. The speaker tries to avoid slang and uses technical or academic vocabulary. It is common that the speaker instead of using contractions aims for complete words. For example, you will find ‘have not’ more often in formal register than haven’t’. This kind of register is typical for academic and scientific publishing.

Informal Register

This type of register you will use when talking with friends. It is used in casual conversation. Contractions are far more common in the informal style of registers as well as rules of negation and agreement may be altered. Words are rather general than technical and it is common to use more slang and colloquialisms in this kind of register.

Over-formal Register

It is a kind of register that is 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 in a high-pitched voice, ‘How are you doing?’

Motherese

Motherese is characterized by high-pitched, elongated sounds and ‘sing-song’ intonation and it is especially used when people speak to infants, young children, or pets.

Intimate Register

This kind of register is used by lover. It is also the language used in sexual harassment. Intimate register is the most intimate form of language and it is mostly avoided in public and professional situations.




We do many things in different ways depending on whom we're with. For example, if you go to a job interview, you probably wouldn't wear a pyjama because you want to show what kind of attire is appropriate for the situation. As for language, it is the same. Instead of assuming that there is only one standard English that you can use for speaking in every situation, you have to figure out what registert is appropriate for each occasion and that may be one of the difficult things concerning register.


However, one important thing that you should not forget when deceiding on the right register is that you should always stay yourself. Don't be who you're not. It may happen that you are with people who use a lot of slang when talking to each other and in that situation you may have the feeling that you have to adapt to their way of speaking. Nevertheless, if that kind of language just doesn't fit you, you shouldn't try to use it. For that reason, I'm advising everyone to be themselves :)