Registers, dialects, and linguistic variation

Variability is inherent in human language: a single speaker will use different linguistic forms on different occasions, and different speakers of a language will say the same thing in different ways. Most of this variation is highly systematic: speakers of a language make choices in pronunciation, morphology, word choice, and grammar depending on a number of non-linguistic factors. These factors include the speaker's purpose in communication, the relationship between speaker and hearer, the production circumstances, and various demographic affiliations that a speaker can have. Analysis of the systematic patterns of variation associated with these factors has led to the recognition of two main kinds of language varieties: registers, referring to situationally defined varieties, and dialects, referring to varieties associated with different groups of speakers.

In the present book, register is used as a cover term for any variety associated with particular situational contexts or purposes. Although register distinctions are defined in non-linguistic terms, there are usually important linguistic differences among registers as well. In many cases, registers are named varieties within a culture, such as novels, letters, editorials, sermons, and debates. Registers can be defined at any level of generality: for example, academic prose is a very general register, while methodology sections in psychology articles are a much more highly specified register.