WMSU-ISMP-GU-001.

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Effective Date: 7-DEC-2016

IV. Intercultural Communication

Lesson 2: Varieties and Registers of Spoken and Written Language

Introduction

The term World Englishes (WE) or varieties of English is not much discussed in
your lower years. However, understanding this concept will broaden your perspectives as
a language learner. According to Braj Kachru, in his Famous “Three Concentric Circles of
Asian Englishes,” there are varieties of the users or speakers of the English language.
Inner Circle with ENL (English as a Native language) is spoken by people who are in the
US, Australia, Uk, New Zealand, and Canada. Additionally, The Outer Circle with ESL
(English as a Second Language) is spoken by people from countries like Philippines,
Malaysia, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Ghana, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Nigeria,
Bangladesh, and Tanzania. Finally, The Expanding Circle with EFL (English as a Foreign
Language) is spoken by people from countries like: China, Indonesia, Korea, South
Africa,CIS, Israel, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Japan, South America, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan,
and Caribbean Countries.
English language as a global language is no longer owned by English speaking
countries. People all over the world used this language to communicate with each other.
However, there are nuances in the language that speakers need to be aware of in order
to be understood. As a result, the need to know this language becomes a great necessity
simply because this language becomes the language of social media, business and trade,
leisure, travel, tourism, health, education and other useful fields. So, you as a learners,
are invited to improve your proficient use of the language.

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you can:

1. Use appropriate register depending on the communication situation;

2. Display an ability to adjust and cope with communication breakdown.
3. Discuss the importance of the varieties of English in both oral and written contexts.

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Topic Outline
1. Varieties of English in Written and Oral Communication

Try this!

Activity 1

Instructions: Watch news on BBC and CNN International. Compare the two varieties of
English you listened to. Make a list of vocabulary items that each variety uses and
provide their counterparts.

BBC (British English) CNN (American English)

Torch Flashlight
flat apartment

Think ahead!

1. Based on the list of words you identified, are the differences rooted only in spelling,
pronunciation, or on meaning of words?
2. What do you think are the reasons for the difficulty of understanding the spoken
language?
3. Where do you attribute the struggles of learners in using the language both oral and
written?
4. Based on your experience, what helped you improve in the use of the English
language?

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Read and Ponder

Language registers/ Registers of English

When it comes to language variation, the terms genre, register, and style are often
encountered. David Crystal (2008) defines register as “a variety of language defined
according to its use in social situations, e.g. a register of scientific, religious, and Formal
English. Terms like legalese, textese, or other terms like academese are examples of
language registers.

Legalese or legal language is highly characterized by archaic expressions, technical

jargon intrinsic only to the community of legal professionals, embedded structures,
nominalizations, passive voice, as well as long kilometric sentences.

Textese, furthermore, are language of SMS language, features include abbreviations,

acronyms, slang words, and expressions. This happens because messages used to be
limited in a certain number of characters/spaces making texting quicker and easier.

In addition, academese registers are words coined and used in the academic circles.

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See if you can do this!

Language Registers

Name: _____________________________ Date: ___________ Subject: ___________

Instructions: Fill in the columns by writing the expressions or vocabulary you commonly
encounter in the registers indicated below.

Legalese Textese Other type (e.g.

academese)
Whereas LOL Feminizing

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