This document discusses language varieties and registers. It defines varieties as variants of a language that can be distinguished based on social, historical, spatial or combined factors. Some varieties discussed include pidgins, creoles, regional dialects, minority dialects, and indigenized varieties. Registers refer to how language use varies based on social context, purpose, and audience. Five registers are defined - frozen, formal, consultative, casual, and intimate. Formal and informal language registers are then classified and rules or characteristics of each are provided.

1. Varieties and
registers of spoken
and written language

2. 2
Learning Outcomes
1. Determine culturally-appropriate
terms, expressions, and images
(sensitivity to gender, race, class, etc.)
2. Adopt cultural awareness and
sensitivity in communication of ideas

3. Lesson 3B outline:
1. Language Varieties
2. Language Registers
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4. a.
language
varieties
4

5. What is a variety?
A variety refers to any variant of a language which can be
sufficiently delimited from one another.
✘ Social
✘ Historical
✘ Spatial
✘ Or a combination of these
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6. Varieties of language
1. Pidgin
- is a new language which develops in situations where
speakers of different languages need to communicate but do not
share a common language.
- A lexifier is a particular language where the vocabulary of a
pidgin comes from.
Examples:
✘ Nigerian pidgin
✘ Bislama (spoken in Vanuatu)
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7. Varieties of language
2. Creole
- is a pidgin that becomes the first language of the children and
the mother tongue of a commuinity.
Examples:
✘ Gullah
✘ Patwa (Jamaican creole)
✘ Pidgin (Hawai’I Creole English)
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8. Varieties of language
3. Regional Dialect
- is not a distinct language but a variety of a language spoken
in a particular area of a country.
Examples:
✘ Hillbilly English (from the Appalachians in the USA)
✘ Geordie (from the Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK)
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9. Varieties of language
4. Minority Dialect
- is a variety used as a marker of identity, usually alongside a
standard variety, by the members of a particular minority ethnic
group.
Examples:
✘ African American Vernacular English in the USA
✘ London Jamaican in Britain
✘ Aboriginal English in Australia
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10. Varieties of language
5. Indigenized Varieties
- are spoken mainly as second languages in ex-colonies with
multilingual populations.
Examples:
✘ Singlish (spoken in Singapore)
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11. b.
language
registers
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12. What is a register?
According to Nordquist (2018), a register is:
- defined as the way a speaker uses language differently
in different circumstances
- determined by factors as social occasion, context,
purpose, and audience
- determine the vocabulary, structure, and some
grammar in one’s writing and even in one’s oral
discourse.
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13. 5 distinct registers (nordquist, 2018)
1. Frozen
- it refers to historic language or communication that is
intended to remain unchanged, like a constitution or a prayer.
Examples: The Holy Bible, The United States Constitution, The
Bhagavad Gita, and Romeo and Juliet
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14. 5 distinct registers (nordquist, 2018)
2. Formal
- is used in professional, academic, or legal settings where
communication is expected to be respectful, uninterrupted, and
restrained. Slang is never used and contractions are rare.
Examples:
a TED talk, a business presentation, the Encyclopedia Brittanica, and
Gray’s Anatomy by Henry Gray
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15. 5 distinct registers (nordquist, 2018)
3. Consultative
- is used in conversation when they are speaking with
someone who has specialized knowledge or who is offering advice.
Tone is often respectful (use of courtesy titles), but may be more
casual if the relationship is longstanding or friendly.
Examples:
the local TV news broadcast, an annual physical examination, a service
provider like a plumber
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16. 5 distinct registers (nordquist, 2018)
4. Casual
- is used when they are with friends, close acquaintances and
co-workers, and family.
Examples:
a birthday party, a backyard BBQ
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17. 5 distinct registers (nordquist, 2018)
5. Intimate
- is reserved for special occasions, usually between only two
people and often in private
Examples:
an inside joke between two college friends or a word whispered in a
lover’s ear
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18. language registers are classified as:
1. Formal Language Register
- is more appropriate for professional writing and letters to a
boss or a stranger
- is impersonal, meaning, it is not written for a specific person
and without emotion
Examples:
a. business letters
b. letters of complaint
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19. Examples:
c. some essays
d. reports
e. official speeches
f. announcements
g. professional e-mails
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20. Rules in formal writing:
A. Do not use contractions.
cannot instead of can’t
have not instead of haven’t
is not instead of isn’t
B. Spell out numbers less than one hundred.
nineteen twenty-two
seventy-eight six
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21. C. Write in third person point of view.
avoid using the following:
I you
we us
D. Avoid using too much passive verbs.
Passive: The bone was eaten by the dog.
Active: The dog ate the bone.
E. Avoid using slang, idioms, exaggeration (hyerboles) and clichés.
awesome/cool check it out
ok/okay
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22. F. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Department of Education (DepEd)
influenza (flu)
Philippine Pesos (PhP)
G. Do not start sentences with words like, and, so, but, also. Here are some
good transition words and phrases to use in formal writing:
Nevertheless However As a result of
Additionally In addition Although
H. Always write in complete sentences.
I. Write longer, more complex sentences.
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23. language registers are classified as:
2. Informal Language Register
- is conversational and appropriate when writing to friends and
people you know very well.
Examples:
a. personal e-mails d. friendly letters
b. phone texts e. most blogs
c. short notes f. diaries and journals
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24. There are no major rules to informal writing but you can include things
such as:
a. slangs and cliches i. jokes
b. figurative language j. personal opinions
c. symbols and abbreviations k. extra punctuation
d. acronyms l. passive and active voice
e. incomplete sentences
f. short sentences
g. first person, second person POV
h. paragraphs or no paragraphs
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25. language registers are classified as:
3. NeutralLanguage Register
- is not necessarily formal or informal.
- is used to delvier facts.
Examples:
a. reviews d. some letters
b. articles e. technical writing
c. some letters
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26. as smc student,
How will the varieties and register of spoken and
written language be applied to:
1. SMC core values (FAITH, SERVICE, EXCELLENCE)
2. Family, friends, and to the society;
3. Course 26

27. 27
quiz

28. Varieties and
registers of spoken
and written language