PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

MODULE THREE
Varieties and Registers of Spoken and Written English

Rationale:

English has been regarded as the language of the world. It is commonly referred to as the
‘universal’ language people all over the globe use in order to understand each other,
especially in the business setting. Then again, a question has been lingering for quite some
time now: Is there really Standard English?

Given all the territories using English, the term ‘World Englishes’ was conceptualized to
describe the different varieties of English used throughout the world. This lesson will look at
the peculiarities and particularities of these varieties and establish the legitimacy of
Philippine English as an accepted variety of the language.

Registers, on the other hand, refer to the degree of formality one uses in communicating. This
lesson will also look at how we use English in relation to communication situations.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

a. Demonstrate understanding of the concept of the varieties and registers of spoken and
written language.
b. Determine culturally-appropriate terms, expressions, and images with consideration on
gender, race, and class sensitivities.
c. Adopt awareness in using the appropriate variety of language depending on the
communication situation.
d. Appreciate Philippine English as a legitimate variety of the English language.
e. Demonstrate appreciation of the importance of the varieties and registers of language in
both written and oral contexts.

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Varieties of English

Annually, the Oxford English Dictionary updates its list of English words with regards
to World Englishes (WE). According to its news release, these updates are part of the
organization’s commitment to recording words from all varieties of English throughout the
world.

English was spread across continents through the colonial expansion of the British
Empire. Today, it is clearly the world’s most widely-used language: the language of formal
and other interactions in many countries, the main tool for globalization, and the default
choice for multicultural communication (Schneider, 2018).

The contact made by the English

language to indigenous languages created its
different varieties with functions and properties
of their own. These varieties are now called at
present as “World Englishes”. To sum it up,
World Englishes are the different varieties or
kinds of English used around the world based on
geographical locations. Kachru (1986)
maintained that the term English does not
capture this sociolinguistic reality, the term
Englishes does.

In 1985, Braj Kachru developed the Three

Concentric Circles as an attempt at explaining
the spread of English around the world. The
model is composed of the Inner Circle, Outer
Circle, and the Expanding Circle.

According to Kachru, the Inner Circle

refers to the countries that regard English as
their first or native language; the Outer Circle
includes countries colonized either by the
United States or Britain, making English as their
second language; and the Expanding Circle are
countries that regard English as a foreign
language. Put together, these circles pertain to
the different varieties of English spoken in the
world today.

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Common Varieties of English

While there are about a hundred varieties of the English language, two of the most
dominant varieties are the British and the American English. Despite their similarities, they
have considerable amount of differences as a result of their cultural diversity. Here are some
of the most common varieties of English in the world (Govind, 2018; ICALTEFL, 1998):

a. British English is the variant used in the United Kingdom or the British Isles in a
broader sense.
b. American English or sometimes called US English is the variant used mainly in the
United States.
c. Australian English is a major variety of the English language used throughout
Australia.
d. New Zealand English is the variant used as the first language by most people in New
Zealand. It is most similar to Australian English in pronunciation but with some key
differences.
e. Black English is also called African-American Vernacular English and refers to the
variant used by the black communities in the United States, the United Kingdom,
Caribbean, and Africa.
f. Singapore English or Singlish is the language variant which is popularly used in
Singapore.
g. Philippine English is a variety related to American English in terms of spelling and
grammar. It is the variant used in the Philippines.

Despite being rooted from the English language, what makes these varieties unique are
some of their differences, which can be described by the following:

Differences in Vocabulary

With respect to lexicon, the varieties also have differences in the words that they
use. Here are some of the major differences in vocabulary:

American English British English

cab taxi
apartment flat
pants trousers
candy sweets
bar pub
garbage can dustbin
refrigerator fridge

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 dude mate
takeout takeaway
refillable unlimited refills
bathroom/restroom toilet/ loo/ john
closet wardrobe
trash rubbish
sneakers trainers

There are also some words that are exclusive only to some English varieties
(compiled by Manzano, Arador, and Ladia, 2018):

Black English Definition

bogus fake
big eye greedy
tote to carry
bae abbreviation of the word ‘babe’
cat a friend

New Zealand English Definition

chunder vomit
lolly candy
wagon Car
scarfie a university student
hard case comedian

Singapore English Definition

hawker centre a food market at which vendors
sell cooked food from small stalls
lah means ‘nothing’ and put at the end
of the sentence
kantang potato
kayu dumb or stupid
missy nurse

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 Philippine English Definition
holdup a forcible robbing of a person
presidentiable a candidate for presidency
nose bleed overwhelmed by having to speak
or think too much in English
gimmick a night out with friends
high blood hypertension; angry or stressed
videoke compounding of video and
karaoke; used for singing
carnap to steal a car
deep hard to understand
blow out treating someone

Differences in Spelling

In terms of spelling, British and American Englishes have very notable differences. It
is imperative to remember that in writing, we have to be consistent with the variety that we
choose to use.

a. /-or/ to /-our/

American English British English

behavior behaviour
humor humour
neighbor neighbour
savior saviour

b. /-er/ to /-re/

American English British English

center centre
theater theatre
caliber calibre
fiber fibre

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 c. /-ize/ to /-ise/

American English British English

organize organise
realize realise
analyze analyse
apologize apologise

d. /-ogue/ to /-og/

American English British English

catalogue catalog
analogue analog
dialogue dialog
monologue monolog

e. /-ed/ to /-t/

American English British English

dreamed dreamt
leaped leapt
spelled spelt
learned learnt

Differences in Pronunciation

One common cause of miscommunication among the varieties of English is

pronunciation. Speakers of different varieties of English have different ways of pronouncing
words.

a. Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia: simplification of final consonant clusters

/lef/ for /left/ or /pik/ for /picked/

b. In the Philippines, every vowel is pronounced with a full, distinct sound. Filipinos also
pronounce words as they are written or spelled out making it syllable-timed.

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 c. Americans, on the other hand, blend syllables or sometimes drop some sounds
making the syllables short.

American English Philippine English

Gotcha Got you!
Whatche say? What did you say?
Wherd yu go? Where did you go?
Ja hitit? Did you hit it?

American English Philippine English

eleMENtary elemenTAry
istreet street
brids bridge
ass ask
thought tot
dat that

This may cause different interpretations because of these differences in

pronunciations.

In the end, given all the varieties of English existing in the world, it was argued that
English is no longer the possession of the countries in the Inner Circle and that it has evolved
to be a part of a larger spectrum advocating the multicultural identities of English (Kachru,
1990).

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The Legitimacy of Philippine English

It is without a doubt that the Americans were the ones who brought the English
language to our shores. When they took over our country from the Spaniards, they also
instituted a military government in the Philippines that resulted to a number of reforms in
our government, education, and even on some of our customs and traditions.

It was in 1900 when Mc Kinley instituted English as the medium of communication to

be used in our archipelago. Through this, the English language was also made a target
language in the classroom. The English language eventually overtook Spanish as the
dominant language in the country.

One issue that happened then was that despite the widespread use of English in the
Philippine society, it was observed that not one Filipino spoke the way Americans do. This
gave birth to a distinctive way of how Filipinos used the language. It can be claimed that we
have ‘localized’ English and made it our own. The question now is: can this be considered
Standard English?

Just like any other variety of English, Philippine English is legitimate, having its own
grammatical, lexical, and syntactical features (Bautista, 2000). Furthermore, Dayag (2012)
also maintained that Philippine English is a legitimate nativized variety of English, which is
used by Filipinos in controlling domains such as the judiciary, the legislature, higher
education, science and technology, scholarly discourse, and the like.

In 1969, linguist Teodoro Llamzon defined Standard Filipino English is that type of
English which educated Filipinos speak, and which is acceptable in educated Filipino circles.
In the same study, it was noted that the formal and semi-formal styles of Filipino English
differ only in a few details, such as intonation, stress, and rhythm.

Simply put, it can be claimed that when Filipino teachers began teaching fellow
Filipinos English, Philippine English was born (Gonzales, 1997).

The Philippines is among the largest English-using societies in the world as proven
by a survey that showed that 90.63% of Filipinos identify themselves as someone who can
use English at least to a communicative level (Borlongan, Agoncillo, & Cequena, 2014 as cited
by Dita, 2020). Our desire to learn English stems from the belief that proficiency and use of
the language is a by-product of good education and serves as a stratifying agent in the society
(Gonzales, 2004).

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Features of Philippine English

Based on various researches, the following are some notable features of Philippine
English as presented by Dita (2020):

Phonological Features
a. tendency toward spelling pronunciation
b. substitution of [t] for soft –th; [d] for hard –th
c. absence of aspiration of initial voiceless stops
d. shift of primary stress (exciting); shift in placement of accents
e. omission of the final consonant (pas vs past)
f. addition of a vowel before an initial consonant (iskul vs school)
g. the voiced fricative /z/ is not a feature PE (because, always)

Lexical Features
a. normal expansion (Pampers – disposable diaper)
b. shifts in POS (horn: noun to verb)
He stopped in front of Toyota and horned loud and long.
c. clipping (aircon, sem)
d. total innovation (promdi, trapo)
e. combination of English and one borrowed element (balikbayan box, sari-sari store)

Philippine English in Oxford English Dictionary (June 2015)

Mabuhay Comfort Room Highblood Mani-Pedi

Balikbayan Dirty Kitchen Carnap Presidentiable
Gimmick Kilig Teleserye Bongga
Dirty Ice Cream KKB Halo-Halo OFW
Dine in Holdupper Bold Ambush Interview

Danica Salazar, an editor for OED, said that adding Philippine English words to the
OED is about representation. The OED believes that the Philippines is a part of the English
speaking world. And as such, Philippine culture, Philippine history, the Philippine experience
must be represented in this great work of scholarship on the English language.

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 Philippine English is not English that falls short of the norms of Standard American
English; it is not badly-learned English as a second language. Its distinctive features errors
are not errors committed by users who have not mastered the American standard. Instead,
it is a nativized variety of English that has features which differentiate it from Standard
American English because of many factors (Bautista, 2000).

In a nutshell, Dita (2020) defended the legitimacy of Philippine English using the
following points:

a. the use of Philippine English is a way of establishing our identity apart from other
Englishes of the world
b. Philippine English is our way of enriching the English language, not bastardizing
it
c. Philippine English is a testimony of our linguistic curiosity and creativity
d. the use of Philippine English is a way of promoting our culture
e. the use of Philippine English is a sign of rich linguistic identity in our country

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Registers of English

Different situations and people call for different registers. Language register refers to
the degree of formality with which we communicate. It is a variety of language defined
according to its use in social situations. In a general sense, it may also pertain to the language
used by a group of people sharing similar work or interests, such as those in the educational,
medical, or business fields to name a few.

It is through the register that we determine the type of words, grammar, and structure
that we will use in every communication situation that we are in. Generally, there are two
general language registers:

a. The formal register is more appropriate for professional writing like when writing
to your boss or a colleague.
b. The informal register (also called casual or intimate) is conversational and
appropriate when writing to friends and people you know very well.

Formal Language Register

The formal register is impersonal, factual, objective, and follows a prescriptive

format. It entails the use of complete sentences and the avoidance of slang. It employs
technical or academic vocabulary. It is for this reason that some feel that the formal register
is probably a difficult type to use.

Given the fact that the formal register is used in professional and academic writing, it
also does not shy away from using technical jargons specific to certain professions. Some
examples include:

 Business Letters
 Project Proposals
 Research Papers
 Technical Reports
 Official Speeches
 Workplace Communication

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Guidelines in Using the Formal Register

a. The Simpler and Shorter, the Better

Write sentences using various lengths, but keep the average number of words in a
sentence relatively short. Generally, simpler and shorter sentences are easier to
understand. Work within the average length of sentence which is 17 words (Strunk &
White, 2000).

Average Length Readability Rating Readers Reached

Up to 8 words Very Easy 90%
11 words Fairly Easy 86%
17 words Standard 75%
21 words Fairly Difficult 40%
25 words Difficult 24%
29 words Very Difficult 4.5%

Use:
Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana introduced chewing gum in the U.S.

Not:
Chewing gum was originally brought to the U.S. by Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana. He
was a Mexican general.

b. Avoid Contractions
Even though contractions may be usual in common spoken language, they should be
avoided in formal language. In this register, contractions should always be spelled
out.

Use:
cannot instead of can’t
will not instead of won’t
could not instead of couldn’t
would not instead of wouldn’t

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c. Use the Third Person Point of View
In the formal register, the first (I, me, my, mine, we, us, our) and second person (you,
your, yours) points of view create an informal tone and are not recommended for
use unless it is a direct quotation.

Use:
The researchers conducted a survey about the perception of students about the
importance of English language proficiency to academic performance.

Not:
We conducted a survey about the perception of students about the importance of
English language proficiency to academic performance.

d. Use the Active Voice

It is better to use the active voice in formal language. The passive voice, on the other
hand, may be used sparingly.

Use:
The students completed the research.

Not:
The research was completed by the students.

e. Avoid Slang, Clichés, and Redundant Expressions

Slang is commonly used in informal language. It is a certain type of vocabulary that
is common to a certain region or a group of people.
Examples: awesome, cool, check it out, bae, lit

Clichés are overused expressions that have lost their impact.

Examples: moment of truth, beauty is only skin deep, time is gold

Redundancy is a state of combining two or more words with the same meaning.
Examples: 3 p.m. in the afternoon, actual experience, free gift, combine together

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 f. Avoid gender-biased words or sexist language.
Use words that are free from gender prejudice and unfair assumption. Words must
not influence the audience in any particular or unfair direction.

Sexist Language Neutral Language

Chairman Chair/ Chairperson
Salesman Salesperson / Sales Representative
Stewardess Flight Attendant
Congressman Legislator
Policeman Police Officer
Manpower Workforce
Fireman Firefighter
Businessman Business Executive/ Entrepreneur

Informal Language Register

The informal register, also called the casual register, is appropriate for people with
whom you have established a more personal relationship such as your friends and family. At
times, this type of register is emotional as there is already an intimate relation between
communicators.

A recent development for this register is the use of textese language commonly seen
in text messages and social media posts. It is the opposite of the formal register for it uses
abbreviations, acronyms, slang, and the like. Some examples include:

 Personal E-mails
 Phone Texts or SMS
 Short Notes
 Friendly Letters
 Blog or Social Media Posts
 Diaries and Journals

There are no major rules to follow in the informal register. Writers and speakers may
use incomplete sentences, slangs, clichés, figurative language, any point of view, and even
some extra punctuation marks. You just have to make sure that the receiver of the message
also understands the message.

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Comprehension Check
Choose at least five (5) terms from the lesson. Then, write your own definition based on
your understanding.

TERMS DEFINITIONS

Learning Enrichment Tasks

a. Create a timeline of the spread of the English language in the world. Make sure to
indicate key events with regards to how English became known as global language.
Be as creative as you can be in creating the timeline. Use the outline format below
for this task.

Date
Important Event

b. Search for more English words that are used exclusively in a particular country.
Share your discovery in class.

Country
Word
Definition

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c. Work as a group. Identify various words and expressions used in at least three local
languages.

Local Language 1 Local Language 2 Local Language 2

Words/
Expressions
Definition

d. Compare and contrast an American and British TV show, newscast, or movie. Take
note of their differences in terms of vocabulary, pronunciation, and gestures.

Variety American British

Word
Pronunciation
Gesture

e. Create a brochure containing a glossary of terms (at least 20 terms each) for the
following categories:

 Textese Language
(words commonly used in SMS, instant messaging, social media posts)

 Technical Jargon
(words commonly used in your field of specialization)

Textese Language
Word
Definition

Technical Jargon
Word
Definition

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RESOURCES:

BBC. (2007). Register. Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/register

Bovee, Courtland L. and Thill, John V. (2014).

Clark, U. (2014). Which variety of English should you speak? Retrieved from
https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/which-variety-english-should-
you-speak

Dayag, D. (2012). Chapter 5. Philippine English. Varieties of English Around the World
English in Southeast Asia, 91-100. doi:10.1075/veaw.g42.09day

De Guzman, L. (2018). 'Trapo', 'bongga' make it to the Oxford English dictionary. Retrieved
from http://cnnphilippines.com/lifestyle/2018/10/11/oxford-dictionary-trapo-
bongga-Filipino-words.html

Dita, S. (2020, June). The legitimacy of Philippine English.

Escote, A. (2008). Kachru's three concentric circles: variations of native and non-native
English [Blog]. Retrieved from
http://manualofstyleandusage.blogspot.com/2008/05/kachrus-three-concentric-
circles.html

Govind. (2018). Different varieties of the English language [Blog]. Retrieved from
https://blog.cudoo.com/different-varieties-of-english-language

Language register. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.really-learn-english.com/language-

register.html

Potter, S., & Crystal, D. (2018). Varieties of English. Retrieved from

https://www.britannica.com/topic/English-language/Varieties-of-English

Llamzon, T. (1969). Standard Filipino English. Retrieved from

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED047315

Manzano, B., Arador, M., & Ladia, M. (2018). Purposive communication for college freshmen.
Bulacan, Philippines: St. Andrew Publishing House

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Salazar, D. (2015). Mabuhay! Philippine English in the OED update [Blog]. Retrieved from
https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/06/25/mabuhay-philippine-english-in-
the-oed-update/

Schneider, E. W. (2018). World Englishes - Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics.

Retrieved from
http://oxfordre.com/linguistics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.001.
0001/acrefore-9780199384655-e-270

Strunk, W., In White, E. B., White, E. B., & White, E. B. (2009). The elements of style.

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482. doi: 10.1017/s1360674316000599

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