Today you will learn a little about how register matters in language use, especially in email communication.
GOOD TO KNOW
In linguistics, the different styles or registers of language are determined by factors such as social occasion, purpose, and audience. This is called stylistic variation.
More generally, register is used to indicate degrees of formality in language use. The different registers or language styles that we use are sometimes called codes.
(Jean Aitchison, Teach Yourself Linguistics. Hodder, 2003)
Starting activity
How do you normally show emotion in an email or post? Think about it and write an answer of up to 30 words.
Did you know...?
The emoticons :-) and :-( were first used in 1982 by Scott Fahlman in an email. He suggested them to a friend of his to express emotion and mark jokes. 
Activity 1
What emoticons would you normally use after these statements in an informal email?
1
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Salutation
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Opening sentence
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Body
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Friendly ending
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Complimentary close
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Activity 2
You can tell how formal an email is by its:
- Salutation and close
- Colloquial phrases
- Vocabulary
- Abbreviations
- Emoticons
Do you know any words or phrases for this in English? Take some examples from Activity 4 (below).
Find on the web other two examples of language you would normally use in email and complete the table below in your notebook.
More Formal
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Less formal (informal)
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Salutations
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Closes
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Phrases and Vocabulary
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Abbreviations
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Activity 3
Look at the word list below. Are these words normally used in formal or informal writing?
Just write formal or informal next to each one.
Just write formal or informal next to each one.
- To ask (when you want somebody to do something):
- To get in touch with:
- Help:
- To need:
- OK:
- To put off:
- To be sorry:
- To set up:
- To tell:
Why do you think so?
Using an online thesaurus, find the formal equivalent to the phrases above. Write them next to " formal" or " informal"
Ex.
0. Hi: Informal, Good morning.
Suggested dictionary http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
Ex.
0. Hi: Informal, Good morning.
Suggested dictionary http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
Activity 4
Now complete the emails below with words from above. Be careful of the register!.
On your notebook write down the activity number, then write the email number and the answers to them accordingly.
On your notebook write down the activity number, then write the email number and the answers to them accordingly.
Task 2
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a.Read the two emails below and find at least five things that make them either formal or informal. Mention to what part of an email they correspond and the phrases (Ex. Hi: informal salutation) and write it in your notebook.
b. Choose ONE of these emails. Using the notes on the right of it, write a response in the right register. Include the following parts:
- Salutation
- Opening sentence
- Body
- Friendly ending
- Complimentary close
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