Introducing English Linguistics

Written registers
Figure 4.2 schematizes the major written registers in the British National
Corpus as they are classified by David Lee. Lee (2001: 53) developed this
system of classification because of “the broadness and inexplicitness of
the [original] BNC classification scheme.” For instance, in the original sys-
tem, the sub-registers under “Fiction” in Lee’s system (drama, poetry, and
prose) were all classified within a single register – imaginative prose –
even though drama, poetry, and prose exhibit significant linguistic dif-
ferences.
Figure 4.2 lists eight major registers of written English that differ along
a number of parameters. Writing can be academic or non-academic, with
the same sub-registers within each of these registers. The assumption
behind this classification is that writing in the natural sciences, for
The structure of English texts
93

---

instance, will differ from writing in the social sciences, and that the audi-
ence towards whom the writing is directed – academic vs. non-academic –
will also affect the way that language is used. As was the case with the spo-
ken registers in Figure 4.1, there is an attempt to cover a wide range of
written registers. Thus, national, regional, and local newspapers are
included as well as broadsheets, tabloids, and the many different types
of writing found in newspapers: reportage, editorials, and so forth. Not all
of the written registers in the BNC are included in Figure 4.2; a number of
registers without sub-registers, such as administrative and advertising
writing, can be found as well. Some of the sub-registers, it should be
noted, are not as discrete as the categorizations in Figure 4.2 would sug-
gest. While literary criticism is traditionally regarded as fitting within the
sub-register of humanities/arts, much literary criticism draws upon work
in psychology or the social sciences to interpret literary texts. Many writ-
ten texts will therefore exhibit characteristics of more than one register or
sub-register.
Because the BNC was released in the mid 1990s, it does not contain
newer types of registers, such as blogs. Also, with the proliferation of
email, which is included in the BNC, the register of handwritten letters,
both personal and professional, is now becoming somewhat archaic.
There are also additional written registers, such as legal writing, not
included in the BNC. Many modern corpora exclude legal English because
94
INTRODUCING ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
Academic Prose (humanities & arts; 
medicine; natural sciences; politics, 
law, education; social science; 
technology and engineering) 
 
Non-Academic Prose (humanities & arts; 
medicine; etc. [same sub-registers as 
above]) 
 
Non-Printed Essays (school; university) 
 
Fiction (drama; poetry; prose) 
 
Letters (personal; professional) 
 
 
Writing  
 
Newspapers/Broadsheets/National (arts; 
commerce; editorials; misc.; 
reportage; science; social [e.g. food, 
drink, and other lifestyle issues]; 
sports) 
 
Newspapers/Regional and Local (arts; 
commerce; etc. [same sub-registers 
as above]) 
 
Newspapers/Tabloid 
FIGURE
4.2
Major written registers in
the British National
Corpus (based on Lee
2001: 57–8).

---

it is a rather specialized register that has a very restricted use and has not
changed much over the years.
Like spoken registers, written registers vary in terms of how rigidly they
are organized hierarchically. While no written text has as loose a structure
as spontaneous dialogues, a personal letter, for instance, will not have as
clearly identifiable a hierarchical structure as a biology lab report. Since
press reportage is such a common written register with which all literate
people will be familiar, this sub-register of newspaper writing will be
described in the next section.