What Is Register & How Do Writers Use It?
Register is probably the most underrated device in your writer’s toolbox: complicated but incredibly powerful. Let’s have a look at how to master register.
Register is something writers notice when an editor marks it on their manuscript. It’s a stylistic device that can make your readers throw away your book if you don’t use it well. But if you do, it adds the most interesting layers of meaning to your text. So, let’s find out what it is.
What Is Register?
If you check ‘register’ on Wikipedia, you’ll find that there are many meanings. What writers need to know is that it’s a ‘form of language used for a particular purpose or social setting.’ Let’s use a comparison.
Imagine the English language as a musical instrument, an organ. Then the words you use are the keys you play. Next to the keyboard, an organ has stops to pull out (or switches to press). These stops change the sound. They can make the organ sound like a trumpet, chimes, or even violin. We can do the same in languages with different registers.
How Many Registers Are There?
In 1967, linguist Martin Joos identified five registers in the English language. English can be spoken and written in a frozen, formal, consultative, casual, or intimate register.
Let’s look at them with some examples.
1. Frozen Register
This refers to texts that will always be the same because it’s important that the words aren’t changed. A good example is The Lord’s Prayer, or the American Constitution.
These texts are often written in archaic words, in expressions we no longer use, and their syntax differs from today’s subject-predicate-object. Just think about the lines ‘who art in Heaven’, ‘thy will be done,’ or ‘lead us not into temptation.’
2. Formal Register
This is the type of language taught in schools and universities. It uses complete sentences, standard syntax, and a varied vocabulary. Formal register is used by the wealthy and the middle class, but also by governments and lawmakers.
You’ll find this mostly in written documents. Making characters speak in this register will make them sound as if they were reciting a book. It’s a great stylistic device, showing how academic and learned they are.
A good example is the character of ‘Yoda’ in Star Wars. He always speaks with a Latinate syntax, often putting the verb at the end of the sentence.
Example: ‘Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?’
3. Consultative Register
This happens when the formal register is used in conversation by people with an academic background. People of a lower social class would encounter this in parent-teacher meetings, at a doctor’s appointment, or when dealing with official documents, like job applications or insurance claims.
This usually entails a more Latinate vocabulary (for example, a doctor might say you ‘contracted a disease’ instead of simply saying that you got sick). People immediately sound very official and learned, but also distanced from the average person.
Another quote from Star Wars, this time by Obi-Wan Kenobi, when he tells Anakin to watch what he’s thinking:
Example: ‘Be mindful of your thoughts, Anakin, they betray you.’
4. Casual Register
Most people speak in a casual register when they meet family and friends. The sentences get shorter, even incomplete. This register relies heavily on gestures and other forms of non-verbal communication (some say, to as much as 80 %). Regional dialects or vernacular are also part of the casual register.
The vocabulary is less complicated and varied. These are the words that editors mark as colloquial, or even slang. The casual register is also found in text messages, where we find alternative spellings and emojis.
The casual register has important subdivisions. This blog post, for example, is written in everyday casual language but it doesn’t use emojis or gestures. You might find colloquial words but never any slang. Writers Write uses this type of language to ensure that every reader can understand the blog posts. It’s a way to make complicated subject matters accessible.
Rap songs (just to take one type of modern music), however, are at the other end of the spectrum within this register. You can easily tell by the amount of swear words used. Often, you’ll find that the pronunciation and the idioms show the geographic heritage and the social class of the singer.
Let’s take our previous quote from Obi-Wan Kenobi and see how a Scottish speaker would say it in a casual register.
Example: ‘Watch whit ye’r thinking.’
5. Intimate Register
This is reserved for the communication between lovers and twins. If we speak like this to other people, it would be considered inappropriate and even sexual harassment.
It’s perfectly ok for a lover to use romantic nicknames like ‘bunny’, ‘sugar,’ or ‘cutie patootie.’ But for anyone else, it’d be a no-go.
Now that you know about the basic registers, let’s go on. What happens when you break the rules?
Clash Of Registers
A clash of registers creates the most interesting bits in texts. They’re also hard to master. Any English teacher or editor would mark them as a mistake. But then, there’s artistic liberty, right?
For example, in one of the most romantic scenes in Star Wars, Leia Organa says ‘I love you’ to Han Solo. The atmosphere of the scene requires her to be romantic. What does Han Solo answer? He says: ‘I know.’
That’s a break in register! Why? Because the situation would require him to answer either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Instead, Han Solo’s comment is very dry and matter-of-fact. Is the audience frustrated? No, we admire Han Solo for his coolness. And the screenwriter has managed to write an epic love scene because it’s so unusual.
Clashes of registers can also frustrate and offend extremely. Imagine going to the doctor, getting a thorough examination, and a prescription for some medicine. Instead of a polite goodbye, the doctor uses swear words to tell you to never set foot in this practice again. I promise you’ll leave the practice wondering what you did wrong. You didn’t do anything wrong. The doctor just changed the register. As writers, we need to tell our readers why.
When two registers clash, this creates a lot of attention. Writers need to use this sparingly and consciously. You always run the risk of annoying your readers. That’s never a good idea because an annoyed reader leaves your book and never comes back.
If you’d like to read a good example of how a poet uses registers, please read Carol Ann Duffy’s poem Poet For Our Times. She mixes several registers here, but the two most apparent ones are the language of the poet and the language of newspaper headlines.
How Writers Should Use Registers
Ideally, writers have a great command of language anyway. Reading different texts, from different centuries, of different English-speaking countries, will help writers to be aware of the many levels of language. Then, it all depends on what you want to write.
Non-fiction writers should choose one register and then stick to it. Leaving that register won’t be tolerated much by your readers. In journalism, many readers’ complaints about articles are due to an unnecessary clash of registers. Poets who use register breaks add another layer of meaning to their poetry. It’s tricky but worthwhile. Fiction writers should watch out. The author, as well as each of the characters, can have their own register and they need to stick to it.
Maybe this little list can help. Ask these questions about your characters:
- What historical era and social class does my character belong to?
- What educational and geographic background does my character have?
- Does my character show that background or should that information be hidden?
- What happens when my character is under stress? Does the register change?
- Do I, as the writer, want to call attention to a specific word? Can I do that by changing the register?
I hope this helps to juggle registers and create well-rounded characters.
The Take-Away
Register is not an easy topic to master. Just being aware of the different levels of language already helps. If you keep the clash of registers subtle, then you’ll minimize the risk of offending your readers. Take heart and experiment!
