The Rhetorical Triangle and Register
“wer 2? don't go out 2 l8. it takes m 4evr 2 get cab after 9”
Communication is about something and for someone. For example, we often write messages
that are about making plans for meeting; we can write them to professors, friends, family
members, and to people whom we have never met.
The rhetorical triangle is a way of depicting the connections between a writer (or speaker),
the message or topic at hand, and the audience (readers or listeners).
The Rhetorical Triangle (for written communication)
A message on the same topic can be transmitted by a writer to different types of readers,
which will have an effect on the way the text is written, as is the case with these two texts
about teething:
Teething
Teething is the term used to describe the eruption of a baby's first teeth. Teething usually
begins at about the age of six or seven months, with most of the first teeth breaking
through before your baby is 18 months old. Your baby will produce more saliva than
usual and will dribble; he will try to cram his fingers into his mouth and chew on his
fingers or any other object that he can get hold of. He may be clingy and irritable, have
difficulty sleeping, and he may cry and fret more than usual. Most of these symptoms
occur just before the teeth erupt. It is important to realize that the symptoms of teething
do not include bronchitis, nappy rash, vomiting, diarrhea or loss of appetite. These are
symptoms of an underlying illness, not teething.
Retrieved from: http://www.extension.org/pages/16893/your-babys-first-tooth-may-be-causing-her-some-pain
Eruption of the primary dentition in human infants
One hundred twenty-eight teeth were observed during eruption. Swelling very
infrequently accompanied tooth eruption and in all cases was mild. Forty-nine percent of
observed teeth demonstrated gingival redness during the emergence stages of eruption,
but there was no significant relationship between redness and specific stages of eruption.
Mean duration of eruption, from palpable enlargement of the gingival tissue to full
eruption, was 2.0 months (range 0.9-4.6 months). The average rate of eruption was 0.7
mm per month. Many of the deciduous teeth appeared to demonstrate an “oscillating”
pattern of eruption, (emerging and then retreating before emerging again). Timing of
oscillation was not specific to stage of eruption or tooth type. This was defined as a
“transitional” phase of eruption which appears to be common.
Retrieved from: www.aapd.org/upload/articles/lucas9-00.pdf
From the beginning of each of these texts, with the use in one of the more every day term
‘teething’ and in the other of the more formal term ‘eruption of the primary dentition’, we can
see a different reader constructed through the choices made in writing the text. The first text,
with direct address to the reader (‘your baby’) and non-technical language, suggests a lay
reader (a parent concerned about their child). The second text, with more distance created
with the reader (‘human infant’ and use of passive voice) and technical language, suggests a
specialized reader (someone involved in dentistry). Indeed, the first text is from a Parenting
Tips newsletter, while the second text is from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
Both of these texts occur within specific kinds of contexts, the first in a society where parents
read about how to best take care of their babies, and many experts provide tips to help them
do so, and the second within a scientific paradigm of research with the existence of peerreviewed journals for communicating that research.
Another way to think about these relationships is through the notion of register. Register
refers to the variables involved when we communicate of field (the subject matter at hand –
what it is the people involved are referring to in terms of experience, real or imagined), mode
(the channel of communication – written or spoken, or, more delicately, a textbook, a sermon,
a conversation, an e-mail, and SMS, etc.), and tenor (the relationship between interlocutors –
symmetrical, as between friends, or asymmetrical, as between a boss and an employee, a
teacher and a student). These register variables come together in distinct ways depending on
the context of situation (which refers to the more immediate context, such as a specific course
here at Saint Louis University’s Madrid Campus) which occurs within a context of culture
(an American university culture, for example).
Register
In the text examples above, the field is the same in both cases (‘teething’ or ‘primary
dentition’), while the mode and tenor are different. The mode in the first case is an online
newsletter, complete with links to ask questions of the experts and other resources for
parents, and the mode in the second is a professional journal, also available online, but as a
pdf file, with the article following the typical scientific organization of introduction (which
includes an explanation of why this research is important to the field), methods, results,
discussion, conclusions, followed by an extensive reference section. The tenor in the first
text is between expert and lay reader, while in the second, it is between professionals.
Activity
Analyze the following texts using the rhetorical triangle and/or the notion of register.
1)
Keep out!
2)
Whatcha doin’? Wanna get a burger or somethin’?
3)
I am writing to enquire about the position in sales advertised in the Saturday August
12th edition of The Times.
4)
Shadows covered wide areas of European life in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. The vigorous expansion into bordering areas that had marked European
history since the eleventh century came to an end. The Christian West fought to halt
the expansion of the Muslim Turks. Plague, famine, and recurrent wars decimated
populations and snuffed out their former prosperity. The papacy and feudal
government struggled against mounting institutional chaos. Powerful mystical and
heretical movements and new critical currents in Scholasticism rocked the established
religious and philosophical equilibrium of the thirteenth century.
But for all these signs of crisis the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were not merely
an age of breakdown.
5)
Ellis and Mellsop (1985) concluded that de Clérambault’s syndrome is an
aetiologically heterogeneous disorder. Theories of aetiology have encompassed
alcoholism, abortion, post-amphetamine depression, epilepsy, head trauma and
neurological disorders. None of these is relevant in this case. Reviewing various
descriptions of the pre-morbid personality in pure cases, Mullen and Pathe (1994:
101) summarise by invoking “a socially inept individual isolated from others, be it by
sensitivity, suspiciousness or assumed superiority. These people tend to be described
as living socially empty lives...the desire for a relationship is balanced by a fear of
rejection or a fear of intimacy, both sexual and emotional”.
6)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch pan.
Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon,
cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl until well blended. Beat the eggs, oil, and
vanilla in a separate bowl until smooth. Fold in the flour mixture, then stir in the
pumpkin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
7)
Mary has also been involved this year as a volunteer ESL teacher in our Community
English Language program. This program provides free English language instruction
for members of the community, and are taught by our university students; the only
pre-requisite for teaching on the program is a strong command of English, and a
desire to provide a service to the host community while learning about teaching and
about Spanish culture through interaction with the community students. Mary has
brought to the program an incredible amount of enthusiasm and insight, and her
students enjoyed having her as a teacher, and also felt that they had learned quite a
bit of English.
Mary's enthusiasm, willingness to work hard, and ability to communicate with people
are all qualities which have been of great benefit to our campus.
8)
Step 1. Bolt together all three of the column assemblies. To do this, lay two
assemblies down together as shown in Figure 1. Lay one coupler plate across the joint
and bolt together using two 2 3/4” long bolts and lock nuts per plate. See Figure 2.
Repeat for the other side. Step 2. Repeat this process again so that you have a total
of 3 column assemblies bolted together. Set this assembly aside.
9)
Last summer, I worked as a receptionist at the Beaconsfield Family Dental Clinic,
where I greeted and interacted with minor and adult patients. In this position, I
learned to schedule appointments and handle insurance billing under the direction of
the office manager.
I hope you will agree that my skills would be an asset to your practice.
10)
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived on the edge of the forest.