Rehistro ng Wika

Sa sociolinguistics, ang rehistro o rehistro ng wika ay tumutukoy sa mga tiyak na leksikal at

pambalarilang pagpipilian ng mga makikipagusap depende sa paguusapan, ang mga kalahok sa
isang pag-uusap at ang function ng wika sa diskurso. (Halliday, 1989)

Ginagamit ang rehistro sa pag-tukoy sa mga barayti ng wika ayon sa gumagamit (Halliday, McIntosh
at Stevens, 1994). Barayti itong kaugnay ng higit namalawak na panlipunang papel naginagampan
ng tagapagsalita sa oras ngpagpapahayag.

M.A.K. Halliday, who was one of the first linguists to pay special attention to the concept of 'register' in
the 1960s and 1970s, interprets this notion as “a semantic concept” which “can be defined as a
configuration of meanings that are typically associated with a particular situational configuration of
field, mode, and tenor.” (Halliday 1990, 38f.) The linguistic features (specific expressions, lexico-
grammatical and phonological features) and the particular values of the three dimensions of field,
mode and tenor determine the functional variety of a language (cf. Halliday 1994, 22). These three
parameters can be used to specify the context of situation in which language is used.

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”
(Halliday 1994, 22). 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 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” (Halliday 1994, 22).
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).

Tenor of discourse (sometimes also referred to as style; cf. Esser 2009, 78) describes the people that
take part in an event as well as their relationships and statuses. “The tenor refers to the type of role
interaction, the set of relevant social relations, permanent and temporary, among the participants
involved” (Halliday 1994, 22.). 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.

All three variables (field, mode, tenor) taken together enable people to characterize the situational
context specifically, and, thus, to recreate part of the language that is being used (cf. Halliday 1994,
22f.). Halliday provides the following example to explain the significance of collective information
about the three parameters:

“For instance, if we specify a field such as ‘personal interaction, at the end of the day, with the aim of
inducing contentment through recounting of familiar events’, with mode ‘spoken monologue,
imaginative narrative, extempore’ and tenor ‘intimate, mother and three-year-old child’, we can
reconstruct a great deal of this kind of bedtime story […].” (Halliday 1994, 22f.)
Halliday looks at register from the “system end" (Teich 2003, 27). This means that he infers from the
context of situation which linguistic structure and patterns are likely or unlikely to be used in a text.
Field, mode and tenor of discourse describe the context of a situation in which language is used.
Register, however, is defined as a functional variety of language according to the use in particular
settings. Hence, Halliday connected three distinct functions of language with the three dimensions
of a situation mentioned above.

“The functional components of the semantic system of a language [are] (a) ideational, subdivided
into logical and experiential; (b) interpersonal; and (c) textual. [...] the field is reflected in the
experiential meanings of the text, the tenor in the interpersonal, and the mode in the textual
meanings.” (Halliday 1990, 29)

Halliday’s concept of register is rather broad and does not provide a set of clear-cut registers.
According to his definition and approach, many different kinds of register exist in language. He only
distinguishes closed and open registers from each other. Closed (or restricted) registers have a
number of possible meanings that are “fixed and finite and may be quite small” (Halliday 1990, 39).
Examples for closed registers include the 'language of the air' or 'the languages of games' (Halliday
1990, 39). Sometimes these registers have a special language of their own. In open registers, “the
range of the discourse is much less constrained” (Halliday 1990, 39), e.g. in letters and instructions.
Nevertheless, Halliday points out that there are no registers that are entirely open. “The most open-
ended kinds of register [are] the registers of informal narrative and spontaneous conversation”
(Halliday 1990, 40). It does not become entirely clear in Halliday’s approach how many registers exist
and how they can be separated from another.

Similar to Halliday’s concept of register, Dell Hymes developed the ‘Model of interaction of language
and social setting’ (the so-called S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G model) to categorize speech situations. With the
help of eight components, speakers may characterize the context of an interaction, and, thus, make
correct use of language. Hymes’ variables of discourse are: (i) setting, (ii) participants, (iii) ends, (iv)
form and content of text, (v) key, (vi) interactional norms, (vii) medium and (viii) genre (cf. Halliday
1994, 22). This approach, too, suggests that there are countless different language situations and,
therefore, registers. Hymes also indicates that there are still many variables and patterns that have to
be discovered and classified (Hymes 1979, 244).

Quirk et. al. (1989, 25) do not define register explicitly, but they describe varieties according to field of
discourse, medium and attitude. In fact, this conforms to Halliday’s concept of register, although they
never make use of this term. Yet, Quirk et. al. (1989, 25) present a “five-term distinction” to categorize
linguistic varieties, and, thus, they narrow down the range of registers:

very formal – FORMAL – neutral – INFORMAL – very informal

The very formal variety of language (“extremely distant, rigid or frozen”; Quirk et. al. 1989, 27) is often
found in written instructions. Very informal language, which is also called 'intimate, casual, slangy, or
hearty' (ibid.) is used between family members or close friends. However, Quirk et. al. point out that
the inner three-way distinction of formal – neutral – informal is chiefly used to designate language.

Halliday, Hymes and Quirk et. al. have similar notions of register. They focus on the context of a
language situation and they identify registers on the basis of this knowledge.
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