Register and Style as Distinct and ‘Functional’ Varieties of Language

Abstract

This paper assesses the relationship between register and style, the prominent differences between them and how both are responsible for sociolinguistic context. It further argues that register and style in relation to context are ‘functional’ manifestations or varieties of a given language since they usually mark the changes that occur in language as a result of immediate sociolinguistic ‘necessities’ over and above the traditional dialectal and social varieties. Language users are usually more conscious of their ‘immediate’ linguistic environments (contexts) in terms of communication goals than they usually are of their ‘remote’ regional or social background and this informs a selection of ‘appropriate’ linguistic items to adjust as it were to those language situations or demands.