Pur posi ve

Communication

GEC 005
Varieties and Registers
of Spoken and Written
Language
Varieties of English
The Three Concentric Circle of
Asian Englishes presents
the three circles:
• Inner Circle (English as a native
language) member countries
• Outer Circle (English as a second
language) member countries
• Expanding Circle ( English as a
foreign language) member
countries
– Braj Kachru (1985)
 Varieties of English

World Englishes (WE)

- stands for localized
varieties of English as
they are used or
spoken in certain areas
 Varieties of English
According to Bautista and Gonzalez
(2006), the structural characteristic of
these new varieties differ.
In terms of social features,
differences can also be highlighted
through these following varieties of
English within the same Speech
Community:
1. Acrolect – comes to the closest to the standard
 Varieties of English
According to Bautista and
Gonzalez (2006), the structural
characteristic of these new
varieties differ.
In terms of social features, differences can also be highlighted
through these following varieties of English within the same
Speech Community:
2. Basilect – digresses thoroughly from it and comes closest to
the pidgin
 Varieties of English
According to Bautista and Gonzalez
(2006), the structural characteristic
of these new varieties differ.
In terms of social features,
differences can also be highlighted
through these following varieties of
English within the same Speech
Community:
3. Mesolect – middle variety is midway between
Acrolect and Basilect
Varieties of English
According to Bautista and Gonzalez (2006),
the structural characteristic of these new
varieties differ.
In terms of social features, differences can
also be highlighted through these following
varieties of English within the same Speech
Community:
4. Edulects – these varieties resulting from
certain types of education ascertained by
social class but are conveyed or transferred
by the kind of instruction of the school
 Varieties of English
Kachru and Nelson (2006)
claim that these varieties of
English are influenced by
the local language/s in
various areas of their
grammars and exhibit
specific phonological,
lexical, syntactic and
discoursal characteristics.
Varieties of English
Moreover, in terms of
rhythm and stress,
Outer and Expanding
Circle varieties
observe syllable-
timed rhythm than
stress-timed rhythm.
 Varieties of English
Example: Nigerians say ‘success for suc’cess
Indians and Nigerians say recog’nize for ‘recognize.
• In short, speakers from Outer and Expanding countries
do not make any changes in their pronunciation to make
a distinction between nouns and verbs which Inner
countries observe as the case of ‘import and im’port and
do not utilize contrastive stress for focusing
(Bamgbose. 1992 & Gumperz, 1982a,1982b, as cited in Kachru
and Nelson (2006)
 Varieties of English
Voiceless plosives such as p,t,k and
often perceived by the Inner countries
same as with the b,d,g.

Expanding countries like Japan do not

properly distinguish between R and L.
 Varieties of English

Only some English varieties in Southeast Asia can be seen having a

lexicon and vocabulary words with these following examples:
1. Singapore English
actsy ‘show off’
missy ‘nurse’
chop ‘rubber stamp
Marina kids, youngsters who spend their leisure time at or around
Marina Square. (Pakir, 1992, as cited in Kachru & Nelson, 2006)
 Varieties of English

Only some English varieties in Southeast Asia can be seen having a

lexicon and vocabulary words with these following examples:
2. Philippine English
‘deep’ hard to understand
‘High Blood’ tense or upset
‘Blow out’ to treat someone with a meal
‘Motel’ used for pre-marital sex
‘Amboy’ half Filipino and American
‘Pulot boy’ boy who pick up tennis balls in a game
‘Balikbayan box’ bow where Filipinos returning from abroad put all their
shopping among others. (Bautista 1997, cited Kachru & Nelson 2006)
 Varieties of English

Onl y some Engl i sh vari eti es i n Southeast Asi a can

be seen havi ng a l exi con and vocabul ary w ords w i th
these fol l ow i ng exampl es:
3. Malaysian English
‘Antilog’ a male hated by a girl
‘Popcorn’ a loquacious person
‘Kachang’ peanuts
‘Slambar’ relax
‘day bugs’ those come to attend school do not live in residence halls
(Said & Ng 2000, as cited in Kachru &Nelson, 2006)
 Varieties of English
Defining Standard Philippine English: Its
Status and Grammatical Features came out
in 2000, Gonzalez identified the following
lexical features in Philippine English (p.76):
1. Preference for specific words and
collocations specifically shall, could,
such, wherein, of (to signal possession)
2. Unusual words and collocations, specific
terms and word combinations
3. Unusual prepositional usage
 Varieties of English
Defining Standard Philippine English: Its Status and
Grammatical Features came out in 2000, Gonzalez identified
the following Syntactic features in Philippine English (p.76):
1. Word-Order Features
2. Use of Articles
3. Noun Sub-Categorization
4. Pronoun – Antecedent incongruence
5. Subject-Predicate incongruence
6. Reclassification of GAE Transitive Verbs as Intransitive Verbs
7. Tense-Aspect usage consisting of unusual use of verb forms and tenses.
Varieties of English
When does an error become a feature of
Philippine English? Gonzalez (1985, as
cited in Bautista, 2000) has this to say:
When do these errors cease to be errors
become part of the standard?
If enough educated elites in the society
“commit” these errors, then these errors
in effect have been accepted by the
society as the standard.
Varieties of
English
You have to be aware
of and recognize
intercultural
communication as you
need to be sensitive to
the people around you
who belong to different
cultural heritages and
have their own
linguistic identity.
Language Registers / Registers of English
David Crystal (2008) defines Register
as a variety of language defined
according to its use in social situations
e.g. a register of scientific, religious,
formal English.
In Hallidayan linguistics, the term is
seen as specifically opposed to
varieties of language defined according
to characteristics of the users and is
given a subclassification into field,
mode and manner of discourse.
Language Registers / Registers of English

According to Lee (2001), Genre is

associated with the organization of
culture, Register is associated with
the organization of situation.

To this end, register is understood

as the context-specific variety of
language to which the field-mode-
tenor framework is important
Language Registers / Registers of English
Genre of Recipe
Field may be analyzed in terms of social setting and the
communicative purpose in which text is produced.

Tenor May be described in terms of the role/s required of the

writers and readers including the cultural values shared by both.

Mode could be explained in light of the knowledge of other texts

required of speakers/listeners and writers/readers as regards
the genre including formal text features.
Language Registers / Registers of English
Language Register
refers to formality of language
which one speaks and used
in different situations.
Formal Register
used in formal speaking and
writing situations. Likewise
appropriate use in
professional writing
 Legalese or Legal language is
highly characterized by archaic
expressions, technical jargon
Language intrinsic only to the community
Registers / of legal professionals,
Registers structures, nominalizations and
of English passive voice.
Plain English these are
complex words that can be
simplified in more
understandable way to
ordinary readers
 Language Registers / Registers of English
SMS Language or Textese Language are
exactly opposites in acronyms, abbreviations,
expressions and slang words are used. This is
because messages used to be limited to a
specific number of characters/spaces, which is
why texting is easier and quicker

However, there can be misinterpretation and/or

miscommunication in text messaging if there is
limited vocabulary and knowledge of context.
That is why extra care should be practiced
when comprehending text messages.
 Synthesis
❖ Intercultural communication plays an important role in
achieving effective communication.
❖ There are different varieties of English spoken by countries
colonized by Britain, the US, Canada, and Australia. Some
examples are Singapore English, Malaysian English,
Philippine English, and Thai English, among others. These
varieties have their own grammatical, lexical, and syntactic
features, and should not be considered as errors.
❖ Language has formal and informal registers. These registers
have forms that define the social situation.
❖ The kind of register to be used affects the way one speaks
and writes.
Pur posi ve
Communication

GEC
GEC 005
005