Understanding Differences in Spoken and Written English: Language Varieties & Registers, Summaries of Communication

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Varieties and Registers of Spoken and Written Language

I. Language Variety

• refers to any variant of a language which can be sufficiently delimited from another one
• a set of linguistic items with similar social distribution (Hudson, 1996) A. Different kinds of language varieties:

1. Pidgin – it is a new language which develops in situations where speakers of the different language need to communicate but don’t share a common language. When a child starts learning a pidgin as his/her first language and it becomes the mother tongue of a community a pidgin will turn into a creole.
2. Creole – it is a distinct language which has taken most of its vocabulary from another language.
3. Regional dialect – it is a variety of a language spoken in a particular area of a country. One common example of it is the American and British English. The New Yorkers live in apartments, while Londoners live in flats. The Americans ride an airplane in travelling overseas while the British ride an aeroplane. B. Differences in Varieties of English language There are many varieties of English and among those are the American English and British English. It is agreed that no one version is “correct” however they possess three (3) major differences such as pronunciation, vocabulary, and spelling (Beare, 2017). In the case of vocabulary, let us use the word “mean” as an example. It means “angry” or “bad humored” in American English but it means “not generous” or “tight-fisted” in British English. o American English: Don’t be so mean to your sister! o British English: She’s so mean she won’t even pay for a cup of tea. Words such as color , center , and recognize were spelled in American English way while it is spelled as colour , centre , and recognise in British English.

II. Language Register

• It refers to the level and style of one’s writing. We use different language registers for different types of writing, just as we speak differently to different people.
• There are three (3) common registers in writing: formal, informal, and neutral. A. Formal – it is appropriate for professional writing and letters to a boss or a stranger. This type includes business letters, letters of complaint, academic essays, reports, official speeches, announcements, and professional emails. Rules of the formal language register: 1. Do not use contractions.

use

cannot instead of…

can't have not haven’t will not won’t could not couldn’t is not isn’t Contractions can only be used if you are quoting someone’s exact words in your writing.

2. Spell out numbers less than one hundred. Examples: - three - sixty-four - ninety-nine
3. Write in third person point of view. We usually do not use first person or second person unless it is a quote. Use he, she, it, or they instead of I, we, you , and us.
4. Avoid using too much passive voice. Examples: Passive Active The research was completed by the students in 2014.

The students completed the research in 2014. The cheese was The rat ate the

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eaten by the rat. cheese.

5. Avoid using slangs, idioms, exaggerations, and clichés. Slangs like awesome , cool , okay/ok , howdy , and clichés like in a nutshell , at the end of the day , and think outside the box
6. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms. Write the entire name out the first time it appears, followed by the acronym. From then on, you can use the acronym by itself. Example: “The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a travel ban for the following countries… The DFA spokesperson concluded that…”

For abbreviations, write the complete word the first time, then use the abbreviation (e.g. influenza > flu). Only use the commonly known abbreviations and not the slang abbreviations or symbols that you would use in friendly emails and texts (e.g. LOL, BTW, w/o).

7. Do not start sentences with words like and , so , but , and also. Transition words such as nevertheless, additionally, however, in addition, as a result of, and although are more advisable to use in formal writing.
8. Always write in complete sentences. Make sure that you are writing a full sentence and not in fragments.

B. Informal – it is conversational and appropriate when writing to friends and people you know very well. This type includes personal emails, short notes, friendly letters, and diaries. There are no major rules to informal writing.

C. Neutral – it is non-emotional and sticks to facts. Neutral writing is most appropriate for technical writings as it is used to deliver facts.

References: Beare, K., (2017). Differences between American and British English. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/differences-between- american-and-british-english-1212216. British vs. American English: 100+ differences illustrated. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.boredpanda.com/british- american-english-differences-language/. Hudson, R., (1996). Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Clichés to avoid. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.skillsyouneed.com/write/cliches-to- avoid.html. Language register: formal, informal, and neutral. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.really-learn-english.com/language- register.html. Language varieties. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/definitions/in dex.html.