The extract is a story about a person named Geoffrey who came home from where he was to

visit his family and friends. And also introduce his new friend Stymphy. All throughout the extract
the characters conveyed variations in dialect, differing registers and many communicative
behaviors.

In the extract the writer effectively uses variations in dialect in the characters. The first instance
in which dialectal variation was used was when Beena and Geoffrey’s grandma were talking.
Beena said “Eh-eh! Is Geoffrey”. After she reminded Geoffrey’s grandpa that she was talking
about his grandson he said “Ohhh! You mean dah…..”. In both instances they were surprised
but they used different words to convey their surprise after not seeing him for over a long period
of time. The second instance in which there was dialectal variation was when Geoffrey was
talking with Ramgolall. Ramgolall commented on his height saying “Baaya, you grow big”.
Geoffrey replied saying “Yes, one does grow, doesn’t one”. They are both talking about the
same thing, how tall Geoffrey has gotten, but they are using different words to convey the same
thing.

The register changes throughout the passage to complement the occasion . The first instance
where there is a use of a register was when Beena was talking to Geoffrey’s grandpa. The
register used was very informal. The way Beena was talking gave an impression of a close
relationship between both Beena and Geoffrey’s grandpa. The second instance where there
was evidence of a use of a register was when Geoffrey was introducing his new friend Stymphy
to Beena.Here Stymphy asked Beena “How do you do”. The register that Stymphy used was a
formal register because at that point Beena is a stranger to him. Hence, he used the formal
register. Another instance where there was use of a register was when Geoffrey and Ramgolall
were speaking to each other. In their conversation there was use of the informal register. This
informality of the register in their conversation gives the impression that they are very close
relatives.

The characters also showed many different communicative behaviors. The first time they
showed communicative behavior was when Beena saw Geoffrey and waved at him. This action
shows that she has not seen him for a very long time and is very happy to see him. The second
instance where there was communicative behavior was when they crossed the canal and
Geoffrey gripped Beena’s hand. Geoffrey gripping Beena’s hand shows that they are very close
friends as he would not have suddenly held the hand of stranger. Additionally, a third instance
where there is a communicative behavior was when Geoffrey introduced his new friend Stymphy
to Beena. Stymphy shook hands with Beena as people usually do when they meet another
person for the first time.

In summary, the extract is a story of a friend who visits his family and friends who he has not
seen for a long time. When all of them were interacting with each other there were variations in
dialect, several different registers were used and several communicative behaviors were also
used.