VARIETIES AND REGISTERS OF SPOKEN AND
WRITTEN LANGUAGE
VARIETIES OF ENGLISH
Inner Circle
English as a native Language
Outer Circle
English as a second language
Expanding Circle
English as a Foreign Language
ACCORDING TO BAUTISTA AND GONZALEZ (2006)
The structural characteristics of these new varieties differ. This is brought about
by the mother tongue or home languages of those who learn or acquire English.
Acrolect
-comes closest to the standard
Basilect
-digresses thoroughly and comes closest to the pidgin
Mesolect
-middle variety is midway between the acrolect and basilect
SINGAPORE ENGLISH
Actsy –show off
Missy-nurse
Chop-rubber stamp
Marina kids-youngsters spend their time at or around Marina Square
Graduate mothers-graduate married women, encouraged to have
more children and accorded certain privileges in Singapore
PHILIPPINES ENGLISH
Deep-puristic or hard to understand
Stick-cigarette
High blood-tense or upset
Blow out-treating someone with a snack or meal
Motel-a hotel used for pre-marital or extramarital affairs
Balikbayan box-box where Filipinos returning from abroad put all their
shopping
MALAYSIAN ENGLISH
Popcorn-a loquacious person
Day bugs-those who come to attend school but do not live in
residence halls
Kachang-peanuts, easy
Open self-girls who are popular and those who are not
LANGUAGE REGISTERS/REGISTERS OF ENGLISH
Genre
-Used to classify types of spoken or written discourse
Register
-used for particular purpose or in a particular communicative
situation.
Style
-choice of words used by a specific group of people when they
speak.
LANGUAGE REGISTER
Refers to the formality of language which one speaks.
Different registers are used in different situations. It is
through register that you are able to determine the
kind of lexicon or vocabulary to use as well as the kind
of structure to be used.
FORMAL REGISTER
Used in formal speaking and writing situations. This is
also used in professional writing.
Examples: project proposals, position papers and
business letters
INFORMAL REGISTER
This is more casual in tone, I appropriate for
people with whom you have established a more
personal relationship as in the case of friends
and relatives.
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