This week's readings were interesting and some of the information was implicit knowledge that I already had. I was glad the book presented such material in a way that was easy to analyze and further solidify the information in my head.
Chapter 10 talked about different registers and styles in both the spoken and written word community. This short chapter gave examples of how a languages register is dependent on a speech situation. One portion of the chapter compared the amount of times the 'ing' was used in comparison with the pronunciation of just the 'in' as in "talking" or "walking". It seems that the data concluded that when formal speech is in use the full pronunciation is used but in more informal situations just the 'in' pronunciation was used. The study also examined the differences between men and women in the same situations.
Chapter 10 also reviewed slang and jargon and ways in which is it is used. The difference between the two is that slang is used in very informal situations while jargon is used in a particular group of people such as police officers or lawyers.
Finally, chapter 10 analyzed the difference between spoken and written registers. Obviously, written registers allow for more thought and therefore, can be much more formal, depending on the situation of course. For example, while writing a quick note to my boyfriend to pick up milk is quite informal but when writing a paper for class it can be extremely formal or socially distant.
Chapter 11 covered a little more with respect to language variations in social groups. To reexamine terms used in the book here are some quick definitions:
dialect- language variety which is characteristic to a particular social group or region and only refers to the speakers of the variation
registers- is dependent on the situation in which the language variety is used.
accent- refers to the pronunciation of the language.
The book analyzed how languages merge together to become quite similar. It seems, especially when referring to the language merger in Kupwar this can be a good occurrence.
There were many maps provided showing the different dialects throughout the United States.
With all of this information in mind, one can only think of the implications for teaching. I think an E.S.L. teacher must recognize that along with teaching the fundamentals of the English language she must also make her students aware of the registers, dialects, and accents. To teach which register of speaking in a certain situation can seem to be very difficult but once the students are made more aware, they will only reap the benefits in their future language endeavors.
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