Describing language
These can be used to create rhythm and effect. But whereas in speech the participants can
clarify what they are saying as they go along, depending on who they are talking to, in
writing it’s m uch more im portant to get it right the first time.
Writers are likely to write full grammatical sentences and use writing-specific language.
In addition, research shows that they
use a higher percentage of
content words
(words
that carry meaning like ‘flower’, ‘car’, ‘hot’, ‘sun’, ‘feel’) relative to
function words
(gram mar
words like ‘which’, ‘to’ or ‘was’), than speakers do. W ith speakers, the proportion of function
words is often m uch higher.
Register
O ur choice of words is also determ ined by the register we are speaking in. Register refers to
both the
topic
we are speaking about and the
tone
(for example
formal
or
informal)
that
we wish to adopt. Thus, for example, in a weather forecast we would expect to hear topic
words such as ‘depression’, ‘cold front’, ‘moving in from . . . ’, ‘tem peratures’ and ‘ho t’, ‘cool’
and ‘warm ’.
However, if we revert to the sentence at the beginning of this chapter (‘It’s warm in
here’) and imagine that the conversation was taking place between two friends, one of
them m ight change it to ‘Pretty warm in here’. Here the use of ‘pretty’ (which is much
more com m on in speech than in writing) indicates an informal tone. But if we use the
word ‘extremely’ instead (e.g. ‘It’s extremely warm in here’),
the tone of the speaker is
considerably more formal.
Students of English need to be able to recognise register differences so that they can
choose their words appropriately, depending on who they are speaking or writing to, and
on the topic in question.
Language varieties
English is not just one language, of course. There are many different varieties. Even if we
take just
British English for example, we will find that whereas a speaker from southern
England m ight say ‘It’s really warm in here’, someone from Newcastle in the north of
England m ight say ‘It’s right warm in here’ (where ‘right’ is pronounced ‘reet’). There are
regional variations in Britain in pronunciation, word choice and grammar.
There are differences between varieties of British English and the English used in
other countries too. An Australian speaker, using an informal tone, m ight well change our
sentence to ‘Bloody warm in here, m ate’, and many American speakers
of English will say
/wo:rm/ rather than /w o rn / - i.e. with the
Irl
sound clearly audible. There are other marked
differences between British and American English, too. Whereas a British speaker may
use the present perfect (see page 71) to ask a question such as ‘Have you been to Venice?’,
American speakers m ight use the past simple (see page 71), e.g. ‘Did you go to Venice?’.
Indian and Pakistani speakers of English often use the present continuous (see page 70),
e.g. ‘We are not having that problem here’, where British speakers, for example, would use
the present simple (see page 70) to say ‘We don’t have that problem here’. And now that
English is becoming so m uch more widely used as a second language than by first-language
English speakers, the num ber of varieties (e.g. Singapore English, Korean English, Mexican
English, etc) will gradually increase, even if the m ajority of people in some countries (e.g.
Korea and Mexico) do not yet speak English with any confidence.
79
Chapter 5
The status of English as one language is challenged by the many different ‘Englishes’
being
used around the world, and notions of the ownership of English have shifted
dramatically. Although there are still many people who advocate using a native-speaker
model to teach English, there is growing acceptance of the concept of an International
English, used as a com m on language of com m unication by people whose native language
is not English. This International English belongs
to everyone who speaks it, but it is no
one’s m other tongue.
Students should be aware of the difference in language varieties and should be given
opportunities to experience different Englishes, though not in such a way as to make things
incomprehensible to them. Furtherm ore, they need to be aware that there is m uch more
that is similar about different Englishes than is different.
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