CHAPTER 4

VARIETIES AND
REGISTERS OF
SPOKEN AND
WRITTEN LANGUAGE
OBJECTIVES
- Demonstrate understanding of the concept of the varieties of English
- Demonstrate mastery of grammatical, lexical, and syntactic features of
Post – Colonial varieties of English in Asian context
- Be knowledgeable about the concept of registers of English in spoken
and written language
- Use the appropriate register depending on the communication situation
- Be able to adjust and cope with communication

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 DISCUSSION

The word “register” was introduced in the field in the 1960’s. It was described by Halliday et al.
(1964, 77) as a “variety according to use in the sense that each speaker has a range of varieties and
chooses between them at different times.” We observe a language activity in the various contexts in
which it takes place, we find differences in the type of language selected as appropriate to different
types of situation. This is because the register of the language is set primarily on the level of formality
of the speech.

VARIETIES OF ENGLISH
Varieties of English refer to the different kinds of English used around the world based
on geographical locations. Several major varieties are American, British, Australian, New
Zealand, Philippine, Singapore, and Black.
There are over a hundred varieties of the English language, but the two most prevalent
varieties of the English Language are British (BrE) and American (AmE) English.

1. American English (AmE). It is a variant of the English language which is spoken

mainly in the United States.

2. Bristish English (BrE). It is a variant of the English language which is spoken in the
United Kingdom.

3. Australian English (AuE). It is another variant of the English language which is

spoken in the Australia. Australian English began to diverge from the British English
shortly after Australia was settled in the late 18 th century. Its spelling corresponds to
British English spelling.

4. New Zealand English (NZE). It is the variant of the English language spoken as the
first language by most people in New Zealand. It is similar to Australian English in
pronunciation, with some key differences.

5. Black English. It is also called African American Vernacular English. It is also used to
refer to black communities in Caribbean and Africa.

6. Singapore English. The English of Singapore is SingEng or Singlish. Singapore

English is a language variant which is considered the most popular medium of
communication in the academe.

7. Philippine English. It is another variety of the English language related to American

English in terms of spelling and grammar. Besides the Filipino language, the English
language is native to the Philippines and is considered an official language.

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 VARIETIES OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY
The first part of this section shows major differences in vocabulary among the three different
varieties of English.

American English British English Australian English

1. drug store chemist’s Chemist/pharmacy
2. afternoon afternoon arvo
3. apartment flat Apartment/flat
4. attorney Barrister, solicitor Lawyer
5. candies Sweets Lollies
6. corn maize corn
7. mail post mail
8.potato chips crisps chips
9.stroller Push-chair pusher
10. subway underground loop

Given the examples above, American English and British English have major differences in
vocabulary.

American English British American English British

English English
cab taxi zipper zip
gas petrol alumnus graduate
hood bonnet bar pub
intersection crossroads can tin
elevator lift cookie biscuit
eraser rubber first floor ground floor
fall autumn flashlight torch
diaper nappy garbage rubbish
pants trousers Private hospital Nursing home
purse handbag vacation holiday

New Zealand English: Black English:

Word Meaning Word Meaning
lolly candy bogus fake
scarfie a university cat a friend or a
student fellow
hard case a comedian whities White people
wagon car homies close friends
smoko rest break during hip knowledgeable
work dude male
chunder vomit

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 Singapore English: Philippine English:
Word Meaning Hold up a forcible robbing of a
kayu dumb or stupid person
yaya boastful or arrogant gimmick A night out w/ friends
shiok similar to cool and great Eat-all-you- Version of buffet w/c
havoc Wild and uncontrollable can offers unli food

paiseh Embarrassed or shy videoke Compounding of video

and karaoke
terok Troublesome or difficult
ulu Rural places Live-in unmarried couple living
together
obiang Ugly
carnap To steal a car

VARIETIES OF ENGLISH SPELLING

In terms of spelling, British English and American English have a few rules which cover
the majority of spelling differences in terms of usage. When using the American English,
writers are required to use the variant consistently. Hence, consistency of use in all aspects:
pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling should be upheld for effective
communication.

1. Most American English words ending in –or change to –our in British English.
American English British English American English British English
favor favour savior saviour
behavior behaviour harbor harbour
labor labour color colour
humor humour favorite favourite
neighbor neighbour honor honour

2. Many American words ending in –er change to –re in British English.

American English British English American English British English
center centre sepulcher sepulchre
theater theatre luster lustre
meter metre manuever manoeuvre
caliber calibre saber sabre
fiber fibre liter litre

3. These are pairs of words which are nouns and verbs.

American English British English
advice advise
defense defence

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 offense offence
pretense pretence

4. Most American spellings use –ize at the end of words while British spellings use –ise.
American English British American English British
English English
criticize criticise operationalize operationalise
organize organise conceptualize conceptualise
realize realise analyze analyse
centralize centralise apologize apologise

5. This variant: -ogue/-og occurs in a number of words of Greek origin:

American English British English
catalogue catalog
analogue analog
dialogue dialog
monologue monolog

6. A number of verbs which make their participle with –ed in American English use –t in British
English.
American English British English
dreamed dreamt
leaped leapt
spelled spelt
learned learnt

FORMS OF LANGUAGE REGISTER

Language register is the level and style of your writing, and it should be appropriate to the
situation you are in.
➢ Formal Register. This form of language register is most appropriate in professional
and business writing. It is impersonal which means that it requires strict
implementations of rules in standard writing and is written without considering
emotions.
Examples: business letters, business reports, announcements, official speeches,
professional emails

➢ Informal Language Register. Informal writing is written in the way we talk to our
friends and family. This form is used when writing to someone you know very well.
Examples: personal emails, short notes, most blogs, phone texts, friendly letters, diaries
and journals

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 ➢ Neutral Register. Some writings are written in a neutral language, which means that
they are not specifically formal or informal, positive or negative. It is used w/ non-
emotional topics.
Examples: reviews, some letters, technical writing, articles, some essays, some reports

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