Stylish presentation

1. Stylistics
Style and Register

2. Stylistic Differences: Style, Register
3 different requests for information:
1. From a friend
Where were you last night? I rang to see if you wanted to come to
the pictures
2. In court from a lawyer
Could you tell the court where you were on the night of Friday, the
seventeenth of March?
3. From a teacher to his pupils in school on the day after
Halloween
I know some of you went ‘trick-or-treating’ last night and so I
thought we might talk a bit today about how you got on. Did you go
out last night Jimmy?
‘eliciting the same information, but the context dramatically
influences the form of the query’

3. • Language varies not only according to the
social characteristics of speakers – such as
social class, ethnic group, and gender which
we have already discussed – but also
according to the social context in which
speakers find themselves.
• The same speaker uses different linguistic
varieties in different situations and for
different purposes.

4. Style
• Style is a notorious term, because it is used in
so many different ways by researchers from
several disciplines, and has popular meanings
as well.
• It is used here to mean the way texts are
internally differentiated other than by topic;
mainly by the choice of the presence or
absence of some of a large range of structural
and lexical features.

5. Style
• Styles can be ranged on a continuum ranging
from the very formal to the very informal.
• Styles of this type in English (and in many other
languages) are for the most part characterized by
vocabulary differences, but also by syntactic and
phonetic differences.
• Vocabulary which is at the extremely informal
end of the continuum is known as slang.
• In some languages styles may be rather more
inflexible than in English.

6. Style and social context
• One important feature of social context which may
well have an effect on the formality of the language
used is the ‘context’ of the person spoken to, and in
particular the role relationship and relative statuses
of the participants in a discourse.
• For example, speech between individuals of unequal
rank (due to status in an organization, social class, age,
or some other factor) is likely to be less relaxed and
more formal than that between equals.
• In certain languages definite rules may exist as to
which linguistic forms may or may not be used.

7. • A good example of this is the different forms of
address that are produced by different degrees of
status difference or intimacy.
• Different degrees of politeness and deference
may be required, and these are signaled
linguistically.
• The connotations of English address-forms, such
as sir, Mr. Smith, Smith, Fredrick, Fred, mate, are
all different. Each has different stylistic
implications, and the rules for their usage, are
quite complex.

8. Thus..
• In most if not all linguistic communities,
differences in social context having a bearing on
formality lead to the use of different styles.
• These styles may be relatively discrete, as
appears to be the case in Javanese, or not.
• Styles can be characterized through differences in
vocabulary, including address forms and
pronouns, and in grammar and pronunciation.
• We can regard these styles as being varieties
within dialects, since they still show
characteristics of the speaker’s regional and
social background.

9. However..
■ In certain other language communities, style shifting
must take place between different dialects or varieties.
■ In these cases, one dialect will occur in formal situations,
and another in informal situations.
■ For example, native speakers of Lowland Scots dialects
may switch, in relatively formal situations, to Standard
English:
■ Scots English dialect: I’ve kenned yon man eight
years.
■ Standard Scots Eng.: I’ve known that man eight
years.

10. • ‘Formality’ is not easy to define. This is because formality
subsumes very many factors including situation, social
formality, kinship-relationship, politeness, seriousness,
and so on.
• Nevertheless, most people have a good idea of the relative
formality and informality of particular linguistic variants in
their own language.
• For example, it is not difficult for people who know English
well to see in what way the following pair of sentences
differs:
- Father was somewhat fatigued after his lengthy
journey.
- Dad was pretty tired after his long trip.
• These two sentences mean the same thing, but they differ
in terms of their formality. The first sentence is relatively
formal and the second sentence is relatively informal.
• Varieties of language which differ from one another in this
way are called styles.

11. What is register in linguistics?
• Register is a part of sociolinguistics, which is
the study of the way in which we use
language in a social context.
• MAK Halliday (whose linguistic theory is
discussed in the link below) developed and
expanded this concept during the 1960s and
70s.

12. Register
• A register is a style level in a language. When we
speak we automatically locate ourselves on a specific
stylistic level. This can vary depending on the
situation in which we find ourselves. For example
when talking to a close friend one would most likely
use a different register than when one is holding a
public address.
• A register can also mean a specialized variety of
language: The register of law, for example is different
from the register of medicine, which in turn is
different from the register of engineering, and so on.
• Registers are usually characterized almost entirely by
vocabulary differences, either by using particular
words or by using words in a particular sense.

13. Register
• One of the aims of education is to introduce
students to the registers (or terminologies) of
particular subjects.
• Registers are an example of particular kind of
language being produced by a particular kind of
social context.
• Many other factors connected with the social
context in which language is being used will also
have a linguistic effect. One of the most
important of these is formality.

14. Use of Register
• Part of learning language is learning when to
use which kind of register.
• In linguistics, register refers to the variety of a
language used in a particular social setting or
for a particular reason.
• Registers are influenced by (and overlap with)
other factors, such as dialect and age, which
determines one's language choices.

15. Register types
• FAMILIAR
• INFORMAL
• FORMAL
• CEREMONIAL

16. 'Familiar'
• This register is normally used between people
who know each other well. Features of this
register show a lack of grammar, spelling,
punctuation and usually contains slang and
jargon.

17. Informal
• Generally journalism and occasionally
academic writing use this register. When
using an informal register, there is usually a
close relationship between the writer,
audience and topic with a degree of
casualness. However, care must be taken in
order not to mistake informal for familiar
registers.

18. Informal
• The features of this register are different
from the familiar register as more care is
taken with grammar etc. However, the tone is
conversational, using colloquial language,
compared to the formal register.

19. 'Formal'
• A formal register is neither colloquial nor
personal and is the register that is mostly
used in academic writing.
• Strong opinions can be expressed objectively.
• It does not break any of the rules of written
grammar.

20. 'Ceremonial'
• Modern academic writing rarely uses this register.
Sometimes, it may be encountered when reading
transcripts of speeches or historical documents.
• For example:
• I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep
humility and great pride - humility in the wake of
those great architects of our history who have
stood here before me, pride in the reflection that
this home of legislative debate represents human
liberty in the purest form yet devised

21. Formal vs. informal
1. Formal language makes use of complex
sentence structures
2. Formal language does not use contractions
3. Formal language is objective
4. Formal language does not use colloquialisms
(language which is common to spoken English)
5. Formal language focuses more on vocabulary
choice
6. Formal language makes use of the discipline
specific vocabulary

22. Formal or Informal?
1. In 2001, the bridge was built. This was good
politically. Two countries united. ?
2. The bridge was completed in 2001, which
resulted in a positive political move that
united two countries. ?
3. When considering staffing in hospitals in the
future, it's difficult not be concerned. ?
4. When considering staffing in hospitals in the
future, it is difficult not be concerned. ?

23. Formal or Informal?
5. I think/believe that the issue of global warming
will be the primary concern at the meeting. ?
6. There is little doubt/It is clear that the issue of
global warming will be the primary concern at the
meeting. ?
7. Sweden's Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt,
totally flipped out when he read the latest report
from the press. ?
8. The Prime Minister of Sweden, Fredrik Reinfeldt,
expressed his concern when he viewed the most
recent report from the press. ?

24. Formal or Informal?
9. The research assistant checked out the
incident and got back to him the next day. ?
10. The research assistant investigated the
incident and reported to him the following
day. ?
11. Germs grow well in dirty and warm
temperatures. ?
12. Bacteria thrive in unhygienic and warm
conditions.?