President Ramon Magsaysay State University

(Formerly Ramon Magsaysay Technological University)

Iba, Zambales, Philippines
Tel/Fax No.: (047) 811-1683

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

MODULE#4
Course Code : GEC5
Course Title : Purposive
Communication
Place of the Course
In the Program : General Education

VARIETIES AND REGISTERS OF SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE

Introduction

The word “register” was introduced in the field in the 1960’s. It was described by Halliday et al.
(1964, 77) as a “variety according to use in the sense that each speaker has a range of varieties and
chooses between them at different times.” We observe a language activity in the various contexts in
which it takes place, we find differences in the type of language selected as appropriate to different types
of situation. This is because the register of the language is set primarily on the level of formality of the
speech. Register is a variety of a language or a level of usage, as determined by vocabulary,
pronunciation and syntax, according to the communicative purpose, social context and status of the user.
It also talks on the set of meanings that easily become identified with particular groups. The variation of
registers has a greater emphasis on the broader social context. We use different language registers for
different types of writing just as we speak differently to different people.
Variety of a language is a specific set of linguistic items or human speech patterns (sounds,
words, grammatical features which can be associated with some external factors (geographical area or a
social group). A language itself can be viewed as a variety of the human languages.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Differentiate the different language registers.
2. Write dialogues using different registers
3. Explain the concept of varieties of language
4. Give example of varieties of language
Discussion

VARIETIES OF ENGLISH
Varieties of English refer to the different kinds of English used around the world based on
geographical locations. Several major varieties are American, British, Australian, New Zealand,
Philippine, Singapore, and Black.
There are over a hundred varieties of the English language, but the two most prevalent varieties
of the English Language are British (BrE) and American (AmE) English.

1. American English (AmE). It is a variant of the English language which is spoken mainly in the
United States.
2. British English (BrE). It is a variant of the English language which is spoken in the United
Kingdom.
3. Australian English (AuE). It is another variant of the English language which is spoken in the
Australia. Australian English began to diverge from the British English shortly after Australia
was settled in the late 18th century. Its spelling corresponds to British English spelling.
4. New Zealand English (NZE). It is the variant of the English language spoken as the first
language by most people in New Zealand. It is similar to Australian English in pronunciation,
with some key differences.
5. Black English. It is also called African American Vernacular English. It is also used to refer to
black communities in Caribbean and Africa.
6. Singapore English. The English of Singapore is SingEng or Singlish. Singapore English is a
language variant which is considered the most popular medium of communication in the
academe.
7. Philippine English. It is another variety of the English language related to American English in
terms of spelling and grammar. Besides the Filipino language, the English language is native to
the Philippines and is considered an official language.
 VARIETIES OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY

The first part of this section shows major differences in vocabulary among the three different varieties of
English.

American English British English Australian English

1. drug store chemist’s Chemist/pharmacy

2. afternoon afternoon arvo

3. apartment flat Apartment/flat

4. attorney Barrister, solicitor Lawyer

5. candies Sweets Lollies

6. corn maize corn

7. mail post mail

8. potatochips crisps chips

9.stroller Push-chair pusher

10. subway underground loop

Given the examples above, American English and British English have major differences in vocabulary.

American English British English American English British English

cab taxi zipper zip

gas petrol alumnus graduate

hood bonnet bar pub

intersection crossroads can tin

elevator lift cookie biscuit

eraser rubber first floor ground floor

fall autumn flashlight torch

diaper nappy garbage rubbish

pants trousers Private hospital Nursing home

purse handbag vacation holiday

New Zealand English: Black English:

Word Meaning Word Meaning

lolly candy bogus fake

scarfie a university student cat a friend or a fellow

hard case a comedian whities White people

wagon car homies close friends

smoko rest break during work hip knowledgeable

chunder vomit dude male

Singapore English: Philippine English:

Word Meaning havoc Wild and uncontrollable

kayu dumb or stupid paiseh Embarrassed or shy

yaya boastful or arrogant terok Troublesome or difficult

shiok similar to cool and great ulu Rural places

obiang ugly High blood hypertension

Word Meaning Live-in unmarried couple living together

Hold up a forcible robbing of a person carnap To steal a car

gimmick A night out w/ friends videoke Compounding of video and karaoke

brownout Similar to black out Eat-all-you-can Version of buffet w/c offers unli food

VARIETIES OF ENGLISH SPELLING

In terms of spelling, British English and American English have a few rules which cover the
majority of spelling differences in terms of usage. When using the American English, writers are
required to use the variant consistently. Hence, consistency of use in all aspects: pronunciation,
grammar, vocabulary, and spelling should be upheld for effective communication.

1. Most American English words ending in – or change to – our in British English.

American English British English American English British English

favor favour savior saviour

behavior behaviour harbor harbour

labor labour color colour

humor humour favorite favourite

neighbor neighbour honor honour

2. Many American words ending in –er change to –re in British English.

American English British English American English British English

center centre sepulcher sepulchre

theater theatre luster lustre

meter metre manuever manoeuvre

caliber calibre saber sabre

fiber fibre liter litre

3. These are pairs of words which are nouns and verbs.

American English British English

advice advise

defense defence

offense offence

Pretense pretence

4. Most American spellings use–ize at the end of words while

American English British English

criticize criticise

organize organise

realize realise

centralize centralise

5. British spellings use-ise.

American English British English

operationalize operationalise

conceptualize conceptualise

analyze analyse

apologize apologise
6. This variant: -ogue/-og occurs in a number of words of Greek origin:

American English British English

catalogue catalog

analogue analog

dialogue dialog

monologue monolog

7. A number of verbs which make their participle with –ed in American English use –t in
British English.

American English British English

dreamed dreamt

leaped leapt

spelled spelt

learned learnt

VARIETIES IN LANGUAGE

1. Geographical Dialects
They are usually speech varieties that pertain to a particular local region.
When we travel throughout a wide geographical area in which a language is
spoken, we are almost certain to notice differences in pronunciation, choices and
forms of words, and in syntax.

2. Sociolects
These are speech varieties that signal social status and educational
background. They are formed based on social levels from which they come from:
high, middle, and lower social classes.

3. Style
This refers to a language variety that is divided based on speech or
speaking situation into formal and informal styles. Our choice of the styles is
governed by circumstances.
 4. Speech Levels
These are language varieties in which the differences from one to another
are determined by the differences of etiquette existing in a speaker and his listener.
It has its own vocabulary, morpho-syntactic rules and phonology.

5. Lingua Franca
This is a language which is used habitually by people whose mother
tongues are different in order to facilitate communication. It is needed in many
areas of the world populated by people speaking divergent languages. It is spoken
differently in different places.

FORMS OF LANGUAGE REGISTER

Language register is the level and style of your writing, and it should be appropriate to the
situation you are in.
 Formal Register. This form of language register is most appropriate in
professional and business writing. It is impersonal which means that it requires
strict implementations of rules in standard writing and is written without
considering emotions.
Examples: business letters, business reports, announcements, official speeches,
professional emails
 Informal Language Register. Informal writing is written in the way we talk to
our friends and family. This form is used when writing to someone you know very
well.
Examples: personal emails, short notes, most blogs, phone texts, friendly letters,
diaries and journals
 Neutral Register. Some writings are written in a neutral language, which means
that they are not specifically formal or informal, positive or negative. It is used w/
non emotional topics.
Examples: reviews, some letters, technical writing, articles, some essays, some
reports
 Static Register. This type of communications rarely or never changes. It is
“frozen” in time and context.
 Consultative Register. In here, users engage in a mutually accepted structure of
communication. It is formal, and societal expectations accompany the users of this
speech. This is for professional discourse.
Examples: doctor and patients, lawyer and client or judge, teacher and students, etc.
 Casual Register. This is informal language used by peers and friends. Slang
vulgarities and colloquialism are normal. This is “group” language. One must be a
member to engage in this register.
Examples: buddies, teammates, chats, emails, blogs, and letters
 Intimate Register. This communication is private. It is reserved for close family
members or intimate people.
Examples: husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, parents and children
Suggested References

Bosworth, P. (2019, The power of communication in the workplace. Retrieved March 8, 2019
from https:// leadershipchoice.com/power-good-communication-workplace

Badua, Fredis Winda F., Biscocho, Alma L. et.al (2019) Purposive Communication in the 21 st
Century (2019) St. Andrew Publishing House, Plaridel Bulacan.

Montano Harmon, M. R. Developing Skills for Academic Purposes, California State University,
Fullerton.