What is language register?

Hi everyone!

My PC3 is coming soon and I had to get started with the studying. As I got to the language register part, I thougth it would be an interesting topic for my next blog post. I started browsing the web in order to get a chunk of information and actually found a lot of interesting stuff to read about registers. It would be the easiest if we could speak the same register style in all types of situations, but unfortuantely we can’t. It is common sense that a slang can not be used when talking to a lawyer or doctor, whereas when talking to your friends or family this style would not represent any problem. In the English language there are three styles of register: 

The formal register which is more appropriate for professional writing and letters to a boss or a stranger. 
The informal register (also called casual or intimate) is appropriate when writing to friends and people we know very well.
The neutral register is non-emotional and sticks to facts. It is neither formal nor informal.

So let’s take a closer look at all three types:

Formal Language Register

- the most difficult type of register

-  impersonal, without emotion

-  always spell out contractions (e.g. will not instead of won’t)

-  Formal register includes: business letters, letters of complaint, reports, professional e-mails, announcements

For example: 

Informal Language Register

-  used when we talk to our freinds and family

- often incomplete or short sentences

- symbols, abbrevations and acronyms

- extra punctuation (e.g Hi Jenny!!!!)

- slang

- Informal register includes: personal e-mails, phone texts, friendly letters, most blogs (like mine :) )

   

For example:

Neutral Language Register

- used to deliver facts

- rather for non-emontional topics and information

- not necessarily formal nor informal

- Neutral register includes:  reviews, some letters, articles

For me, the informal language register works the best as I can identifiy my writing and speaking style with it the most. I like to mix my register style up and therefore I aslo think it’s a great way of learning the differences between them.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and reading my posts!

Love,

Jelena