M3: Register

We just learned all about dialects, one type of language variation.  Some people speak one dialect, others speak more than one.   This image describes the relationships between language/dialect/register.  You may think of your dialect as the next level in your language after defining your language.  Some people say "accent" when they really mean "dialect".  Linguists use the term dialect and you will need to know to use that term, too for your ESL TExES Exam.

So if we speak English, that is our language, the outermost circle.  
American English is inside of the larger classification of English and is our dialect.

Within our dialect of American English we can drill it down further and say "Texas English" or "Central Texas English" and then inside of that dialect, we speak MANY different registers.  We might use five different registers on any given day.

So think of registers as on a continua... 

from way over here informal..........................................to way over here formal.

in between are different shades of formality, or different registers.

So on the left, informal would be text............................on the far right formal writing would be an academic paper

or on the left talking with your child is informal.................on the far right giving a speech at a gala would be formal

Make sense?

Slang is used inside of your register (informal), that is inside of your dialect (Texas English), which is inside of your language (English).  Slang is used in a less formal register usually categorized as intimate or casual.  You usually don't use slang in more formal settings.  But you may use jargon, which is kinda like the formal version of slang! 

Then what is an idiolect?  That word sounds kinda like "idiot" but it is not part of the Latin origin of "idiota" which means ignorant or stupid (and if you speak Spanish that is a cognate!).  It instead is related to the Greek origin of "idios" which means "personal" or "private".  So an idiolect is a personal language -- unique to you.  It may be a result of a place you lived or it may just be a funny idiosyncrasy that you do and no one else does.  That is your idiolect.

Look at this next slide again (it was on our previous page about dialects) and think about the difference between dialects and registers.  Does it make more sense now?

Why does this matter?  
As teachers of multilingual students learning language, we need to be able to understand, identify, and teach students about the different dialects they may hear and we also need to teach our students to use different registers.  Students will need to be able to use a more formal register in certain settings (ie. job interviews) and they can use less formal registers in other settings (ie. home or on the playground with their friends).

How do we decide when to use a particular dialect or register?

Many people only speak one dialect. In those cases there would be no "deciding" on which dialect to use.  If you are bidialectical, you would make your choice regarding dialect depending on who you are interacting with or what the norms or customs are in that setting.

For registers, we all speak multiple registers that are inside of our dialects.  We decide which register to use depending on the context or situation we are in.  For example, if I'm presenting to a class I use a more formal register than when I'm talking to my daughter at home.  But if my daughter was a student in my class, she would still have to endure my formal register.  So it is not who I'm speaking to exclusively, but instead it is the context or situation I'm in.

Here is a short video on registers.  You only need to watch up until minute 1:49.  After that, the professor talks about the assignment they have for their class.  Don't worry!  You don't have that assignment.  

If you have any questions about dialects or registers, be sure to bring them to our next zoom meeting on Wednesday!