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UNIT 2
DIAPHASIC VARIETIES
OF ENGLISH
Prof. Alameda Hernández

DIMENSIONS OF VARIATION
THE ARCHITECTURE OF LANGUAGE

Language can be DIMENSIONS The varieties are

influenced by… called…
Context or setting DIAPHASIC Styles / Registers

Social group DIASTRATIC Sociolects

Place or region DIATOPIC Dialects

Time (historical) DIACHRONIC (Stages)

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REGISTER
 Diaphasic dimension.

 Def  The language associated with a certain situation type.

CONTEXT OF SITUATION  LANGUAGE VARIETY USED

 Grammatical correctness?
 APPROPRIATE OR NOT.

FORMAL/INFORMAL
WRITTEN/SPOKEN
 What do we mean by written / spoken?
 Written:using characters on a surface.
 Spoken: using voice to utter sounds.

 What is a formal situation? What is an informal

situation?
 Rules,
standards of correctness, prescribed way…
 Casual, without planning, everyday situation…

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FORMAL / INFORMAL

As the price of five dollars was reasonable, I decided

to make the purchase without further thought.

It was, like, five bucks, so I was like “okay”.

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WRITTEN VS. SPOKEN STYLE

Written: expressed in writing. SPOKEN: using your voice.

Words (which are originally and Message is conveyed using your voice:
naturally spoken) are materiliazed on PARALINGUISTIC FEATURES: tone, pitch, loudness
a surface :  SOUNDS MAY RUN TOGETHER (eg. “Betcha” for “bet you”)
 PUNCTUATION  CONTRACTED FORMS (“I’ll” for “I will”)

The writer has time to go back and
revise what has been written:
PLANNED and ORGANIZED
AVOID REPETITIONS
LINEAR ORGANIZATION
Might be read in a place different
from where it was written:
Produced on the spur of the moment:
REPETITIONS, RE-STARTS, FILLERS
 ORGANIZED (Halliday) (eg. Turn-taking)
Shared context
Interpretation is easier:

DECONTEXTUALIZED CONTEXTUALIZED … extralinguistic aspects

 LEXICALLY DENSE and PRECISE
VOC (to avoid misunderstandings)
 COMPLEX GRAMMAR
Funcion: mainly transactional
 LESS CONTENT WORDS (bs speakers rely on
extralinguistic features).
BODY LANGUAGE AT WORK.
SIMPLER GRAMMAR AND SHORTER SENTENCES
Function: mainly interactional.

FORMAL ENGLISH INFORMAL ENGLISH

Sentences are longer and more Sentences are simpler and shorter, for example:
complicated, for example: Did you see Toyota’s sales figures? Looks like the discounts
Toyota’s US sales bounced back in have actually worked.
March as substantial discounts
helped to win back customers who
had been shaken by the firm’s mass
safety recalls.

The standard of correctness. Some phrases are considered correct (or at least acceptable) in
informal English, but wrong in formal English. For example:
I have made less mistakes.(formal:I have made fewer mistakes.)
She’s liking it. (formal: She likes it.)
I feel real good. (formal: I feel really good.)

Formal English is well planned
according to an organized
structure and often following
conventional written and spoken
patterns.
Because informal English is “improvised”, it is sloppy. Speakers
(and sometimes writers) often do the following:
Use “delaying expressions” to give themselves time: Well, I think
they should have asked us first, you know?
Use “correcting expressions” to correct themselves: He’s not well.
I mean, he’s not sick, but he’s very tired.
Use “qualifying expressions” to show that what they said is not
exactly right: This whole bloggingthing is getting kind of old.

next

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Notice…
Formal English can get highly formulaic
“My condolences,” “We are glad to inform
you,” “On account of your petition”
A huge number of words and phrases are
used mainly in formal English. For example:
nevertheless, to disclose, to constitute, to
undertake, daunting, impervious, anew,
truly, solace, to enchant, frantically,
sizeable, to clutch, heyday, as it happens,
upsurge, retrieval
Many (but not all) phrasal verbs are
avoided.
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I’m loving it!!
Fashion in recent times: “like” and “love” take a dynamic
form, but retain stative meaning.
Modern colloquial way of saying “I love it”
back
Informal English contains useful “everyday phrases”,
for example:
Here you are. There you go. (when giving something to
someone)
Excuse me?, Come again? (to ask someone to repeat
something)
What do you mean? (to ask for explanation)
So, you’re saying that...? (to ask for confirmation)
Exactly!, I couldn’t agree with you more. (to agree with
someone)
By the way..., Anyway...(to change the topic)
See you. Take care. (to say goodbye)
A huge number of words and phrases are used mainly
in informal English. For example: dude, freaking, uh-
huh, nope (= no), to puke, trashy, grownup, awesome,
to chill out, stuff, hard-up, to tick somebody off, to sell
like crazy.
Phrasal verbs are used frequently. For example, in
informal situations, people usually say found out
instead of discovered, came across instead of
encountered and got away instead of escaped.
Words and phrases are sometimes pronounced in a
shortened and simplified way, e.g. Lemme go!, I’m
doin’ fine, Whassup?, Whatcha gonna do?
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Right or wrong?  Appropriate register

 Husband speaking to his wife in the kitchen:

 “The performance of this gas-powered apparatus falls far
below expectation”
 The managing director of a company congratulating
one of his marketing staff on good sales performance:
 “Who’s a clever boy, then!”
 A girl trying to convince her boyfriend that what she
says is true:
 “To the best of my knowledge and belief, the particulars I
have given you are correct and complete”

Formal/Informal + Written/Spoken
 Would you say written = formal style and spoken =
informal style?
 NO
FORMAL INFORMAL

WRITTEN

SPOKEN

Legal document Radio news Email to a friend Email reply to

Greeting your classmates your boss
as you arrive to college Friends, TV series Conference presentation

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HOWEVER
 Linguists argue that there is not a simple, one-
dimensional difference between spoken and written
discourses, and between formality and informality.

Rather, there is a CONTINUUM.

 The English language can be expressed in speech or

writing + it can be used in formal and informal
settings  wide range of styles/registers.

E-communication

 Written form, but shows features of

spoken style.

CONTINUUM

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Writing is changing…
how often do you write?
 Nowadays people write quite a lot. MORE than what we think.
 New technologies are responsible for that:
 We text on our mobile phones.
 We post opinions on internet forums
 We use emails.

There is a whole new world of writing out there!

But it is different:
 It is international.
 It is concerned with communication rather than accuracy.
 It is instant: quickly written and quickly read.
 Without drafts or planning  mistakes are forgiven
 Vs traditional style of writing (requiring planning, thought and accuracy; focusing on
appropriate layout, punctuation and spelling)
 E-mail: originally  informal comm.
nowadays  formal means of communication (e.g. university)

Practice 1
 Quiz: formal - informal language

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Practice 2: Informal to formal

1. Come on one of our holidays where you can do your own cooking.
 Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of a camping holiday where you can
cater for yourself.
..........

2. Don't delay! Thousands of competion prizes are up for grabs!

available
 Thousands of prizes are ................to anyone who enters the competition
before the closing date.

3. Profits are falling, so the company may have to lay people off because
 The company has reported a sharp decrease in its profits. Consequently
....................
a number of employees may lose their jobs.

Practice 3: Formal to informal

4. The approximate number of club members is 30.
about 30 club members.
 There are ..............

5. The decision is still under consideration.

made their mind
 They haven't ……................……..up yet.

6. It is a requirement that all employees of the company undergo a medical

examination prior to starting their employment.
must have a check-up before you start work.
You ............

7. Reports show that there is still evidence of inequality between men and
women in the workplace.
the same
 A report says that men and women are not treated ..............…at work.

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Grammatical patterns
1. We'll tell you how you got on in the test in a couple of weeks.
be informed
Candidates will ............................... of their results in two weeks.

2. If you're not happy with the service in the restaurant you can talk to the manager.
............................ wish to complain about our service, please contact the manager.
Should you

3. The police will be looking into the matter.

The matter is under police ........................... .
investigation
4. You don't have to buy anything If you don't want to.
You are under ........................ to purchase any of our products.
no obligation
5. We're supposed to turn up 2 hours before we leave.
Passengers ……………………………….. to arrive at least 2 hours before
………………………...
are required
departure

7. Regardless of the situation you should always wear

protective glasses.
whatever
You must wear protective glasses ............. the situation.

8. Members of the club can be accompanied by guests.

Club members are welcome to .................... along a guest if
they want. bring / take

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Big Bang Theory

 Episode 04_03

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Analyse the following sentence in terms

of register. Transform it.
Latinate expr. + Nominalization + long NP Formal linker
“ Her frequent absences from work eventually
motivated her dismissal”
Nominalization +
Latinate
latinate

“She was always missing work so she got fired”

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