Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Off-Campus Program-San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
Tambo Adorable, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

“Language Registers’
Effectivity in
Communication-based on
Society”

Submitted by:

Aidan Queen M. Bacsa

BSE 1-A

Submitted to:

Mr. Erickson A. Razon

 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Off-Campus Program-San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
Tambo Adorable, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

I. Background of the Case

Language essentially has a function as a tool to express the content of ideas. As a means to

convey messages in society, language continues to evolve following the development of the

complex society or what is usually called language dynamics (Mansyur, 2018). Another

factor that causes change is that language is arbitrary so this change causes a lot of language

variations or variety in this world (Aditya, 2012). The existence of language variation occurs

due to the heterogeneous society of the speakers and also because of the social interaction

among the speakers. Language variety is one of the sociolinguistic studies that explain the

characteristics of language variations and correlates the characteristics of the language

variations with social characteristics (Chaer & Agustina, 2010).

In addition, Halliday and Hasan (1989) state that language variations are generally divided

into two types, namely based on language users or dialects and based on language use or

registers. Hudson (1996) adds that the different classification between dialects and registers

is really necessary, it is because the existence of registers enables each individual to use

different languages depending on the place and situation even though they have the same

meaning. According to Holmes (2013), in contrast to the style of language which examines

the use of language in each individual, registers are more often used as a study of language

use in a group of people or in specific situations. Based on the various theoretical studies

above, it can be concluded that register is a study of language variations based on groups of

language users and their fields of use, this regards the use of language in certain fields such

as journalism, sports, education, baby language or language to a group of students.

In fact, the register is a sociolinguistic study that is interesting to study as the language used

in a particular community is different from the standard language used by the general

society. The differences can be both in terms of meaning and structure, so they often cause

confusion. For example, in terms of meaning, the register of the word ‘Diamond’ in the

context of baseball sport refers to a baseball field that is shaped like a diamond and not the

literal diamond. It is certainly not a problem if communication occurs among members of

 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Off-Campus Program-San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
Tambo Adorable, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

one community, but it will be a problem if outsiders are not familiar with the use of this

language (Inderasari & Oktavia, 2018). Thus, it is important to conduct a register study to

characterize the use of language in certain communities, so that it can enrich the linguistic

repertoire and facilitate communication among communities and avoid misunderstandings

due to the use of different languages. Moreover, registers have become a trend in

sociolinguistic research in recent years.

They exist in every world language. The five registers are frozen, formal, consultative, casual,

and intimate.

1. Frozen - describes speech that is so formalized that it is often produced via recitation

rather than spontaneous speech production.

2. Formal - uses primarily the third-person point of view, though sometimes the

second-person is appropriate.

3. Consultative - formal and acceptable speech often used in professional settings

4. Casual - used among friends and peers, and includes informal language including

slang and colloquialisms.

5. Intimate - reserved for close family members such as parents and children and

siblings, or intimate people such as spouses.

II. Objectives Of the Paper

• To discover the purpose and most effective use of Language register in society.

• To know, how Language Register help to have effective communication.

• To understand how Language Register is used in a Society.

 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Off-Campus Program-San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
Tambo Adorable, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

III. Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

It is necessary and a must to set some appropriate registers of language to avoid

misunderstanding and conflicts during exchanging of views. Speakers must at least have an

idea of whom they are communicating with to compose an appropriate language that may

help him/her communicate effectively.

According to the study by Atlantic Press, Language variation is not only based on the

differences among individuals such as origin, social level, gender, or age but also based on

language use situations. Language variations based on language use situations are called

registers (Tanaka & Tanaka, 1996). Holmes (2013) adds the definition of the register as the

use of language in a particular group of people. It can be concluded that the register is a

variation of language based on the situation and use of language in certain communities. The

most used perspective as references in register studies is Halliday and Hasan (1989) who

states that the register is determined by three elements of the situation, namely field, tenor,

and mode. Later, many experts began to develop a theoretical definition from Halliday and

Hasan (1989), such as Hudson (1996) who defines the three elements of Halliday and

Hasan's (1989) situation as follows:

1. Field: refers to the purpose and subject matter in communication. The field is said to

be able to answer the question of why and about what communication is established.

Tanaka and Tanaka (1996) refer to a field in Japanese as “mokuteki, kadai” (Subject,

topic).

2. Tenor: depends on the relationship between the participants of the communication.

It can also be said for the relationship between the speaker and the addressee. The

tenor can answer the question to whom the communication takes place (an example

is how the speaker perceives the interlocutor). Tanaka and Tanaka (1996) refer to

tenors in Japanese as “chi’i, Yakuwari kankei” (Role Relationship, Status).

 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Off-Campus Program-San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
Tambo Adorable, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

3. Mode: refers to the means used in communication, especially spoken or written

means. Mode is said to be able to answer the question of how communication is

established. Tanaka and Tanaka (1996) refer to the mode in Japanese as “dentatsu

houhou, Shudan” (Means, Mode)

IV. Methodology of Analysis

The study will use the descriptive method of research. The descriptive research design

involves using a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods to collect data that

aids in accurately describing a research problem.

Descriptive research design is a type of research design that aims to systematically obtain

information to describe a phenomenon, situation, or population. More specifically, it helps

answer the what, when, where, and how questions regarding the research problem rather

than the why.

V. Highlight of the Case

As discussed, or seen in the previous parts of this study, each register has the usage based

on the society or group of people. Effectiveness of communication using language register.

You must adjust your word use if you’re not in your place, for example, if you were raised in

a community where the casual register is most frequently used in communicating and there’s

a time that you are applying in work, you must adjust your register, you can use formal

register because the people in that place are professional.

 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Off-Campus Program-San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
Tambo Adorable, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

VI. Presentation, Analysis, Discussion

This chapter focuses on Data Presentation, Analysis, and Discussion. The data was obtained

from the study titled “Language Registers’ Effectivity in Communication based on Society.

This study only had 2 respondents.

Respondents Profile

First Respondent is Mr. Roland Hermoso,56 years of age, and serves as a Pastor at Sto.

Domingo Pampanga. The second Respondent is Ms. Jackielyn Mendoza,31 years of age and

working as an event organizer in Nueva Ecija.

I prepare three questions for them.

1. What kind of Language register you’re frequently using? And why?

2. Do you think there’s a difference in the way you communicate with your friends and

other people?

3. For you, what is the most widely used register in communication?

Respondent 1 answer

1. For me, I frequently use consultative, because most of the time I am surrounded by

professional people.

2. Yes, because it’s different when you are communicating with your friends of course

your words are very different than others.

3. For me, the most widely used register in communication is the casual register.
 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Off-Campus Program-San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
Tambo Adorable, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Respondent 2 answer

1. For me consultative.

2. Yes

3. Casual Register.

Analysis and Discussion

Both respondents’ answers were very similar to one another, both frequently used

consultative registers because they are surrounded by professional people, I think they

chose that because of their work. They said that their way of communicating with their

friends is different from other people’s. They both answer that the casual register is the

most widely used in communication. In conclusion, the effectiveness of communication

is based on society, if they are in their field they use a different register to be more

effective and to be respected while if they are surrounded by their friends they use the

appropriate register which is a casual register, for them to bond.

VII. Implications of the Study

Language registers are important because it provides rich opportunities for language and

content instruction. It is also important to understand the differences between registers

so that one can use the appropriate language for a particular situation.
 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Off-Campus Program-San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija
Tambo Adorable, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

VIII. References

www.atlanticpress.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.oxfordlanguage.com

www.principalteacher.com

www.quora.com

www.merriamwebster.com