Unit 4.

Registers

The language register is the level and style of your writing. It should be appropriate for the
situation you are in. Lin (2016) asserts that people, irrespective of the first language used, would always
make a “language in everyday, local, oral contexts.” Seen as a vital component of culture, language
continues to evolve serve people’s interests.

Lesson 1. Dimension of Registers

Language register determines the vocabulary, structure, and some grammar in your writing. We
use different language registers for different people. You would not speak to the President of the
Philippines the same way you would talk to your friends. The formal register is more appropriate for
professional writing and letters to a boss or a stranger. The informal register (also called as casual or
intimate) is conversational and appropriate when writing to friends and people you know very well.

The neutral register is non-emotional and sticks to the fact. It is most appropriate for technical
writings. In articles such as these, we tend to mix the formal and informal registers to present the
information to be understood easily and in personal tone.

The following are three most common language registers used in the English language.

a. Formal Language Register – the language that use in writing is formal and it is a difficult type of
writing. It is impersonal, meaning it is not written for a specific person and is written without
emotions. Some kinds of writing are always written formally. It includes:

1. Business letters
2. Letters of complaint
3. Some essays
4. Reports
5. Announcements
6. Professional emails

b. Informal Language Register – also known as informal writing. It is written in the way we talk to
our friends and family. We use informal writing when we are writing to someone we know very
well. It includes:

1. Personal e-mails
2. Phone texts
3. Short notes
4. Friendly letters
5. Most blogs
6. Diaries and journals
 c. Neutral Language Register – the language used in non-emotional topics and information. It is
not necessarily formal or informal, nor positive or negative. A neutral register is used to deliver
facts. It includes:

1. Reviews
2. Articles
3. Some letters
4. Some essays
5. Technical writing

Lesson 2. Tenor

Tenor refers to role structure (who is taking part) – refers to the nature of the participants, their
statuses and roles. It is one aspect of context of situation discussing who is taking part. It covers the
nature of the participants, their statuses their roles.

Tenor (tone or style) is part of the register . It is the attitude that the speaker/writer manifests.
In fact, it is the most complicated one. The difficulty is on identifying what message is really conveyed.
When you come across different people, you realize that varying tones exist. Depending on the context,
speakers portray an aura that cannot be missed by anyone listening.

An idea is conveyed largely depends on the people involved. There are many levels by which
tenor can be fully understood:

1. Examine the role, that is, whether doctor/patient, teacher/student, father/son,

mother/daughter, peer/peer, employer/employee and more
2. Look into the expected characteristics whether they are employed or not
3. Consider the value system shared by constituents

Tenor is also marked by power relations which could be equal or unequal. Equality resides in the
intent of the speaker/writer to evoke the sense of belongingness to the listener/reader.

Tenor is always influence by many factors. The message can have different implications not just
words employed but by culture/speaking community that produces them.

What one says, despite being clear and direct, may not be understood if the listener cannot
place the information in the right context. The attitude of the speaker along with the words spoken can
have multiple projections to the listener.
Lesson 3. The Corporate World

It is everybody’s dream to have a successful event. Preparation is the key for this. Careful
communication is one in fulfilling a smoother transmission of ideas from the client to the event
manager/product, agent/manufacturer and vice versa.

With lack of appropriate concepts that control the whole event/process, much could be wasted.
Hence, SWOT analysis is needed to address such unlikely circumstances, Van der Wagen (2008) points
out that the analysis is made easy with certain steps such as knowing the project scope, objectives,
financial viability and project milestones.

Another interesting fact in the world of business is the gravity of persuasion an agent has on a
particular product. This usually happens during “pitching”.

Pitching a product is more likely to swallow anyone up if he’s not as prepared as his competitor.
Success is primarily based on how he could convey the messages which have a high probability to be
accepted by the CEO’s. In this section, the knowledge on the appropriate words to use is a plus since
products are dependent upon the markets companies target.

The success of the business is heavily reliant upon the determination to make words/ideas fall
into place perfectly without having no force any of them during the interaction.