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http://www.esoeonline.org/main-index/index-teachers/stylevsregister.

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STYLE OR REGISTER?
So what is the difference? Briefly, STYLE is to do with variations in formality but REGISTER is to do with variations in language use connected with topic matter. The two are not, of course, unconnected. STYLE has variously been divided into categories, the most useful ones I've found are: CASUAL INFORMAL FORMAL FROZEN Coming down the pub? Would you like to go to the pub? You are cordially invited to accompany me to the pub. PLEASE ORDER PUB LUNCHES AT THE FOOD COUNTER.

Frozen style is the name that has been given to things like public notices which (railway managers' notices aside) have a certain recognisable structure wherever they occur. Obviously, there are degrees between each of these and where you put certain kinds of utterances is a matter of judgement. One could go on inventing categories forever. Where, for example, would you categorise "Let's go to the pub." or "I was wondering whether you might like to go down the pub."? It has been suggested that a further category would usefully be something called SEMI-FORMAL which would describe, for example, casual language used to strangers like "D'you mind if I open the window?". Others have made a case for yet another category called something like FORMAL PLUS which might better describe "Mr and Mrs Smith request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of Jemima and Clarence ... " etc. But that's enough, say I. There are a couple of related concepts which may be helpful: STYLISTIC VARIATION which describes the differences in speech and writing of a group of users of a language dependent on situation, location, topic and rles. STYLE SHIFT which describes what you do when you add, for example, a personal note to the end of a formal piece of language because, although there is a convention operating which makes you want to be formal, you have a closer personal relationship with one or more of the addressees. So we get, e.g., "Good morning ladies and gentlemen and thank you for coming. Oh, and Hi to you too, Sue." Style can affect three things, essentially: 1. Choice of Vocabulary ('dismayed' vs. 'fed up'). 2. Choice of Grammatical Structure ('John is responsible.' vs. 'The responsibility lies with John.') 3. Pronunciation (/Uswtw/ - formal vs. /Uswtn/ - informal) REGISTER should refer to the differences in language use which are shown up when you analyse the speech and writing between people of the same occupation or sharing a field of interest. So we might get:

LAWYERS DOCTORS EFL TEACHERS

Endorse the affidavit. Diagnose with the stethoscope. Fill the gaps in the Cloze test.

In certain registers, of course, certain levels of formality are the convention but that doesn't mean that REGISTER and STYLE are the same thing. Register affects lexis most noticeably but also influences the choice of grammatical form (imperatives in recipes and passives in technical papers). Some registers, too, such as LAW, require certain types of grammar which are almost unique to them. We can end up with a combination like this:

FROZEN

QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION ENTRANCE

BLOOD BANK CLOSED ON BANK HOLIDAYS

FCE PRACTICE MATERIALS IN THIS FILE ONLY

L E V E L O F F O R M A L I T Y

FORMAL

I put it to you M'lud

Scalpel.

Stop writing now.

INFORMAL

Did you do it?

This won't hurt.

Say again, Helmut?

CASUAL

His brief=s a total basket case.

The bloody radiographers are useless.

Upper Intermediate? Fat chance.

LAWYERS

DOCTORS

EFL TEACHERS

TOPIC/INTEREST/OCCUPATIONAL AREAS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_(sociolinguistics)

Register as formality scale


One of the most analyzed areas where the use of language is determined by the situation is the formality scale. Writers (especially in language teaching) have often used the term "register" as shorthand for formal/informal style, although this is an aging definition. Linguistics textbooks may use the term "tenor" instead (Halliday 1978), but increasingly prefer the term "style" "we characterise styles as varieties of language viewed from the point of view of formality" (Trudgill, 1992) while defining "registers" more narrowly as specialist language use related to a particular activity, such as academic jargon. There is very little agreement as to how the spectrum of formality should be divided. In one prominent model, Martin Joos (1961) describes five styles in spoken English: Frozen: Printed unchanging language such as Biblical quotations; often contains archaisms. Examples are the Pledge of Allegiance, wedding vows, and other "static" vocalizations that are recited in a ritualistic monotone. The wording is exactly the same every time it is spoken. Formal: One-way participation, no interruption. Technical vocabulary or exact definitions are important. Includes presentations or introductions between strangers. Consultative: Two-way participation. Background information is provided prior knowledge is not assumed. "Back-channel behavior" such as "uh huh", "I see", etc. is common. Interruptions are allowed. Examples include teacher/student, doctor/patient, expert/apprentice, etc. Casual: In-group friends and acquaintances. No background information provided. Ellipsis and slang common. Interruptions common. This is common among friends in a social setting. Intimate: Non-public. Intonation more important than wording or grammar. Private vocabulary. Also includes non-verbal messages. This is most common among family members and close friends.

http://esl.about.com/od/advancedspeakingskills/a/v_register.htm LANGUAGE REGISTERS (adapted version) 1. Frozen - Language that does not change - Prayers and pledges, "set" speech which is often scripted 2. Formal - Complete sentences and specific word usage. - Formal English often used to show respect used in places such as work, school and public offices 3. Consultative - Formal register used in conversation - colleagues, peers, etc 4. Casual - Language used in conversation with friends. - idiomatic and often full of slang, used to signal belonging to a given group 5. Intimate - Language between lovers (and twins). - "private" language full of codewords only known to the two Here are four examples of different situations using different types of language to express similar sentiments: Example: Greetings 1. Frozen - Welcome to the Hugh Brothers Industrial Center. Where tomorrow's world meets today's. Please remember that no flash photography is allowed during this tour... 2. Formal - Good morning. May I speak to the director, please? 3. Consultative - Hello, Mr Smith. How are you this morning? 4. Casual - Hey, Jack. What's up? 5. Intimate - How's my little snuggy wuggy? Example: Complaints 1. Frozen - This is a complaint for damages and injunctive relief arising out of manipulative activities in the gold market from 1994 to the present time ... 2. Formal - I hope you don't mind my stating that the service is unsatisfactory. I would like a refund. 3. Consultative - Excuse me Ms Anderson. As I understand the task, we need to focus on improving our delivery times rather than blaming our suppliers. 4. Casual - Oh, Bob. Just a moment! Listen, you know... well... what was with that off-key comment last night? 5. Intimate - I'm sick and tired of your crap! Example: Encouragement 1. Frozen - I offer You all my prayers, works, joys and suffering of this day ... 2. Formal - Thank you for applying for this position. We'll let you know within a week if you have been chosen for an interview. 3. Consultative - Thanks for following-up on the Jones account. Great job! 4. Casual - Whoa, way to go! Nice catch! 5. Intimate - You're so good. I'm crazy about you, Honey

http://theinterpretersfriend.org/pd/ws/frozn-rgstr/text.html Register (or style) is a label for the way we vary our speech or sign when we communicate with people in different settings, and this depends on the closeness or distance we feel to that individual (or group) because of authority, goal, or acquaintance. In ASL, the physical distance of the audience will also be a factor. If a person has authority over us, we accept greater social distance as a sign of respect. This authority may stem from governmental structure like when we are in a court of law, from religious tradition like when a Catholic person meets the Pope, or from an employment relationship, especially between the highest boss and the lowest level employee. America has toned down a lot of these formalities, but many nations still take them quite seriously. By goal, I mean the purpose of meeting with a given person. If we go to see a doctor, he does not have authority over us, but he is an authority on the subject. For this reason, we will allow him to have the floor more that we have it, and will allow him to control how the conversation goes. With acquaintance, we relax the distance that must be shown to those who are above us in authority, because of their position or knowledge. With those who are our peers or even our friends, our way of speaking changes its character. Since this workshop focuses on frozen register, we will only discuss the other registers briefly, but knowing the other registers will be of help in understanding why we have frozen register at all. Imagine a male patient going to the doctor's office and the female nurse wishes to weigh him. Here are some different ways that she might speak to him: Formal: Please come into the examining room, Mr. Smith. If you will step up onto the scale, I would like to get your weight. Consultative: Come into the room here, Mr. Smith. How much do you weigh?. . . O.K. Please step on the scales and I'll check that. Oh, I see here that you are 5 pounds heavier. Maybe your scales at home are light. Casual: So, John, come in and we'll see how much you're weighing today. Boy I bet those kids of yours have grown a lot. . . . Yeah, they're just at that age. . . . OK. You're 162 pounds on the nose. Intimate: John, we're lookin' like you put on weight. Let's check you out. Now, don't be shy. Step up there. Yep. I'm right; up 12. Margaret's not gunna be very happy with you. You'll have to tell her to quit making that sorbet you like so well. You let her pamper you too much. [The teacher should show an overhead of the above and ask the students to identify what makes these registers sound different while writing down their comments on the board or on the overhead.] FORMAL REGISTER happens when the audience is large and the sender can't judge as easily if individuals are understanding the message or not; when the sender is not familiar with the audience and cannot assume what they know or how much rapport will be established; when there is a large differential in status and greater deference must be show or expected because of office (pope, judge, political leader, and so on); when the speaker likes to keep a distance between her/himself and other people. The following are characteristics shared by English and ASL: The sender will communicate more slowly,

articulate more carefully, use longer pauses and prosody (for English this is vocal inflection, for ASL this is body movement), be highly organized, scan the audience with their eyes rather than look at individuals (but may look directly at those well-known to the signer or who are highly-valued), participants are not as free to ask questions (but this is more allowable in ASL than in English), and there is more use of media (overheads, videotapes, PowerPoint). I sometimes joke that no one can stop the speaker in a formal presentation unless they need to yell "Your pants are on fire!" IN ENGLISH: Avoid casual contractions (gonna, hopin', kinda), use more elaborate and specialized vocabulary ("after careful consideration of the matter" rather than "I thought about it and. . ."), and speakers will continue speaking while showing media since silence brings discomfort and audience members can hear and see at the same time. IN ASL: Use larger sign space (since audience members will be further away) with shifting of whole upper torso, the signer may actually walk to different parts of the stage to spatialize, avoid contractions by signing things like TWO YEAR PAST instead of the single sign TWO-YEARS-AGO (visibility), avoid fingerspelling if possible or index the fingerspelling as a warning, depend less on facial non-manual grammar and signals but use the body to show this (such as more head tilt for visibility), ASL depends less on sign choice to be formal, any specialized vocabulary is more likely to be negotiated (explained), and long pauses do not create discomfort (dead airtime) and are even required to allow audience members to look at overheads and the like. CONSULTATIVE REGISTER happens when the audience is small (perhaps one person at a doctor's office); when the sender is more familiar with what the person knows because the sender can actually ask the individual questions; when there is a difference between the sender and receiver but it is because the sender is an expert in the matter under discussion (medicine, psychology, law, etc); when there needs to be a distance so that the sender will keep to the subject since time is limited. The following are characteristics shared by English and ASL: The sender will communicate at a moderate (not slow) pace, articulation is not as exaggerated as in formal but more so than in casual, some use of pauses and prosody (for English this is vocal inflection, for ASL this is body movement), questions are asked so that the receiver can give input (for the expert to analyze) and show understanding, some contractions may be used, the sender will check for comprehension directly to the person and more often than in casual register, there will be organization of what the sender wants to ask but more flexibility of change in direction as the receiver shows lack of comprehension or responses that lead in a different direction, checking-in (for comprehension) will happen by the sender looking directly at the receiver, the participant(s) should wait for a pause to ask for clarification (but this is more allowable in ASL than in English), and there may be limited use of media (usually only still pictures or diagrams). IN ENGLISH: Vocabulary may be specialized but the speaker should use word choices that are understandable to the consumer who may be coming to someone more knowledgeable in this matter. IN ASL: Sign space is clearer than casual conversation but not as exaggerated with only the head shifting rather than the torso, fingerspelling is fine since the receiver can ask for repetition, non-manual grammar and signals may be used since the participants are physically closer, and there may be some sign negotiation.

CASUAL REGISTER happens when two or more people know each other well, the sender at the moment is very aware of what the others know or not about any given topic ("my mother's at it again"), when the status of everyone is equal for the purpose of conversation, when everyone wants to feel close to one another. Interpreters often see this register when they socialize and mistakenly use it for formal and consultative settings. This register is actually harder to understand in ASL (if you are not native) than consultative or formal because the Deaf participants will not be as redundant, seeking of comprehension, or exaggeratedly clear. The following are characteristics shared by English and ASL: Communication is moderate to rapid and there is lax production of words or signs, the sender will not ask if the receiver is understanding unless s/he looks confused, little repetition and many contractions will be used, there will be no planned organization of what the sender wants to say, the participants will frequently interject themselves (by waving for attention or simply beginning as soon as the sender has paused) to take the floor or ask for clarification, the participants will know each other well enough to know when to explain background information and when not to. IN ENGLISH: There can be much use of slang and shared knowledge. IN ASL: Production of signs is very lax and normally two-handed signs may be made with one hand, sign space may only be indicated by eye gaze shifting rather than shifting of torso or head, non-manual grammar and signals are fully used since the participants are physically closer, and some signs that might not be familiar to everyone (such as name-signs) won't be explained if the signer knows that his partner(s) know them. Here is one more example of the three registers we have just discussed: Formal (automobile convention): Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor to be able to address you tonight about a new line of automobiles we hope to be offering to the public. Consultative (car sales person): I understand you want to know about our new Honda Civics. Casual (with friends): Hey guys! Have you heard about those new hot Civics they got out this year?

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