PURC 111 Midterm Reviewer

Language Varieties and Registers

Speech variety, a concept of domain, is important as it signifies the class of situation within which a certain speech variety is used. A
domain is also referred to as “social situation as the implementation of the rights and duties of a particular role relationship.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF LANGUAGE VARIETIES

1. Pidgin – develops in situations where speakers of different languages need to communicate but don’t share a common
language. EXAMPLE: “ Conyo “
2. Creole – is a distinct language which has taken most of its vocabulary from another language, but it has its own grammatical
rules. EXAMPLE: Gullah, Jamaican Creole, ( patois or patwa ) Spanish Creole (Chavacano)
3. Regional Dialect – is not a distinct language but a variety of language spoken in a particular area of a country.
4. Minority Dialect – a particular minority ethnic group have their own variety which they use as a marker of identity, usually
alongside a standard variety.
5. Indigenized variety – are spoken mainly second languages in ex- colonies with multilingual populations. This standard
variety may be linked to English proficiency or may be part of a range of varieties used to express identity. EXAMPLE:
Singlish (spoken in Singapore) a variety came from Standard English.

Language Registers

1. Static Register/ Frozen Register

2. Formal Register
3. Consultative Register
4. Casual Register
5. Intimate Register

Multimodal is a dynamic convergence of two or more communication modes within the same text.

What is a multimodal text?

Combines two or more semiotic systems like picture book which textual and visual elements are arranged or live performance in
which gesture, music and space are main the main elements.

It can be delivered via different media and technologies such as:

paper ( books, comics, posters)

digital ( slide presentations, e- books, blogs, e- posters, web pages and social media)
live ( performance or an event)
trans media ( media platforms, such as: book, comic, magazine, film web series, and video game)

Five Semiotic Systems

1. Written or linguistic meaning – vocabulary, generic structure, and grammar

2. Audio Meaning – music, sound effects, noises, ambient noise, and silence
3. Visual meaning – still and moving images, use of color, saliency, page layouts, vectors, viewpoint, screen formats, visual
symbols; shot framing, subject distance and angle, camera movement , subject movement
4. Gestural meaning – body movements, hands and eyes , facial expression
5. Spatial Meaning – environmental and architectural spaces and use of proximity direction, layout, position of an organization
of objects in space

Cultural Sensitivity in Multimodal Text

CULTURE comes in many shapes and sizes. It includes areas such as politics, history, mentality, behavior and lifestyle. Insensitivity
in multimodal text may affect the products the company is promoting, might offend people and will lead to miscommunication.

LANGUAGE – poor translation may cause embarrassment and misinterpretations, the use of appropriate language must be given
importance.

Technology Based Communicating tools – is the backbone of social interaction

Examples;

Email
Texting
Instant messaging
Social networking
Tweeting
Blogs / blogging
Video conferencing