Register, in linguistics refers to a form of a language used for a specific purpose or in a particular social setting. One's register could be a style or form of language determined by such factors as social event, context, purpose, and audience, also called stylistic variation. Pragmatically, the term describes the degrees of formality with which populations use language; these formal variations are sometimes called codes. Registers encompass a range unique vocabulary terms and turns of phrases, colloquialisms and also the use of jargon, and a difference in intonation and pace.
The word 'register' while referring to language was first employed by the linguist Thomas Bertram Reid in 1956, and brought into general currency within the 1960s by a group of linguists who wanted to distinguish among variations in language consistent with the user (defined by variables like social background, geography, sex and age), and variations consistent with use, “in the sense that each speaker has a range of varieties and choices between them at different times” (Halliday et al., 1964).
Examples:
- King of Clubs and Queen of Spades; (Game of Cards)
- Heavy rain due to deep depression (Meteorology)
- He knows a method to predict the bear and bull markets (Stock market)
- A large investment is needed to modernize the plant (Industry)
Characteristics of Register
Whether it be in writing, sign language, or verbal communication of any kind, a particular register is defined by certain lexical, phonological and grammatical characteristics as they compare to another localized language usage by a distinct population or in a different situation.
These characters include many linguistic classes, as Douglas Biber states in “Dimensions of Register Variation: A Cross-Linguistic Comparison”. These include phonological features like pauses, intonation and speech patterns, tense and aspect markers, pronouns and pro-verbs, questions, nominal forms, passive constructions, dependent clauses, prepositional phrases, adjectives, adverbs, lexical classes, modals, reduced forms like contractions and that-deletions, coordination, negation and “grammatical devices for structuring information”
Types of Registers
Register may be divided into four categories: Familiar, Informal, Formal and Ceremonial. Given below are the different categories of registers with examples:
Familiar
This register is generally used between individuals who know each other well. Features of this register show an absence of grammar, spelling, punctuation and typically contains slang and jargon.
For example:
- Hey, Will arrive evening.
Informal
Generally, journalism and sometimes academic writing use this register. When using an informal register, there's usually a very personal relationship between the writer, audience and topic with a degree of casualness. However, care must be taken so as to not mistake informal for familiar registers. The features of this register are different from the familiar register as more care is concerned with grammar etc. However, compared to the formal register the tone is more conversational, using colloquial language.
For example:
While I was on my way to the lab., an inspiration struck me that perhaps all that we ponder is feasible, may not be. For example, a friend and i were contemplating the prospect of dumping our classes and hanging out in our favorite café instead. We found that what we thought was possible, actually wasn't as our lecturer intervened on our way, ending up that we attended class anyway. Does this mean that what we originally thought was possible, can't be, as something will always intervene? How does this affect prediction and planning?
Formal
A formal register is neither colloquial nor personal and is the register that is mostly utilized in academic writing. It is a register where strong opinions are often expressed objectively; it doesn't break any of the principles of written grammar and often contains a set of rules of what not to do when using this register.
For example:
- Several stages of development are distinguished in the first year of a child's life when it develops the abilities necessary to utter a successful first word. According to Crystal (1997), primitive vocal sounds are displayed within the initial two months with basic features of speech like the flexibility to regulate air flow and produce rhythmic utterance. Sounds like cooing, quieter sounds with a lower pitch and more musical develop between six and eight weeks aged. Cooing dies away around three and four months and so a period called vocal play develops; an experimental stage, where a baby has more control and experiments with vocal practice.
Ceremonial
Modern academic writing rarely uses this register. Sometimes, it might be encountered when reading transcripts of speeches or historical documents. Often, misunderstandings in recognising the difference between ceremonial and formal registers occur when writers are experimenting with new vocabulary. A dictionary will assist you make the correct choices and reading academic texts will assist you become more accustomed to the suitable choices.
For example:
- “I stand on this rostrum with a sense of deep humility and great pride - humility in the wake of those great architects of our history who have stood here before me, pride in the reflection that this home of legislative debate represents human liberty in the purest form yet devised.” - Douglas MacArthur's Farewell Address to Congress.
- “Here are centered the hopes and aspirations and faith of the entire human race”.
Collocation, in linguistics, describes a sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. In phraseology, collocation is a sub-type of phraseme. A strong tea, for example, is an expression of a phraseological collocation. While a similar meaning may be conveyed by the roughly equivalent powerful tea, this expression is often thought of as excessive and awkward by English speakers. In contrast, powerful computer is preferred over strong computer as an expression in technology, .
Collocations are of six main types: adjective+noun, noun+noun (such as collective nouns), verb+noun, adverb+adjective, verbs+prepositional phrase (phrasal verbs), and verb+adverb.
Given below are some examples of common collocations:
- cup of tea - I made a cup of tea for lunch.
- do homework - I did all of my homework yesterday.
Even though it possible to use other word combinations, understanding collocations help English learners improve their fluency because they are words that typically go together.
Below are some examples of the most commonly used collocations in the English language:
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Following examples describe how collocations are used in sentences:
- Are you fully aware of the consequences you’re about to face?
- He fell on the ground in excruciating pain.
- The bomb went off when he started the car engine.
- The prisoner was hanged for committing homicide.
- After her eyes were filled with horror, suddenly she burst into tears.
Use of Collocation in Literature:
- “Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith”. (Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land, 1961)
- “The mule has more horse sense than a horse. He knows when to stop eating--and he knows when to stop working”. (Harry S Truman)
- “I’m an incredible man, possessing an iron will and nerves of steel--two traits that have helped me become the genius I am today as well as the lady killer I was in days gone by.” (William Morgan Sheppard as Dr. Ira Graves, "The Schizoid Man." Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1989)
- “The acting buildings commissioner said in a statement, ‘The Buildings Department will have zero tolerance for builders, contractors, and property owners who fail to take appropriate measures to secure their construction sites and buildings.’” (Sewell Chan, “Buildings Department Warns of High Winds”. The New York Times, June 16, 2008)
