CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of Study
Sociolinguistics
is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of
society, including cultural
norms, expectations, and
context, on the way
language is
used
. Sociolinguistics
differs from
sociology of
language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of
the society on the language, while the latter’s focus is on the language’s
effect on the society (linguistics marketplace). Sociolinguistics overlaps to a
considerable degree with
pragmatics.
It is historically closely related to
Linguistic Anthropologyand
the distinction between the two fields has even been questioned recently.
As with other types of language
variation, there tends to be a spectrum of registers rather than a discrete set
of obviously distinct varieties — there is a countless number of registers we
could identify, with no clear boundaries. Discourse categorisation is a complex
problem, and even in the general definition of "register" given above
(language variation defined by use not user), there are cases where other kinds
of language variation, such as regional or age dialect, overlap. As a result of
this complexity, there is far from consensus about the meanings of terms like
"register", "field" or "tenor"; different
writers' definitions of these terms are often in direct contradiction of each
other. Additional terms such as diatype,
genre,
text types,
style,
acrolect,
mesolect
and
basilect
among many others may be used to cover the same or similar ground. Some prefer
to restrict the domain of the term "register" to a specific
vocabulary (Wardhaugh, 1986) (which one might commonly call
jargon), while
others argue against the use of the term altogether. These various approaches
with their own "register" or set of terms and meanings fall under
disciplines such as
sociolinguistics,
stylistics,
pragmatics
or
systemic functional grammar.
CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION
A. Style
1.
The Definition of Style
According to Janet
Holmes, 2001 the definitions of style are:
a. Style
is language variation which reflects changes in situational factors, such as addressee,
setting, task or topic.
b. Style
is often analyzed along scale of formality.
c. The
level of formality is influenced by some factors like the various differences
among the participants, topic, emotional, involvement, etc.
Wolfram &
Schilling-Estes (1998:214) define language style quite similarly, as "variation
in the speech of individual speakers".
Bell (1997:240) is
somewhat clearer in emphasizing the linguistic lements:
style is "the
range of variation within the speech of an individual speaker".
By
these statement above, so we can conclude that style is the varians in the
speech which is used in certain situation or form of the language used for the
same purpose under certain circumstances
2. The function of style
This
sociolinguistic tradition of investigating style as an aspect of symbolic
speech variation differs from that of anthropological linguistics or
ethnography of communication, which primarily focuses on ‘ways of
speaking’ – including styles and registers – as expressing particular social
functions, events, or relationships (though it also includes careful linguistic
description).
An
important movement in sociolinguistics in recent years has been the merging of
variationist analysis with such an ethnographic conception. In the case of
style, a group led by Penny Eckert (the California Style Collective) at
Stanford led the way with a paper in 1993. They discard a purely-linguistic
definition or identification procedure for style, and instead
crucially emphasize the role of social function and practices. This is
also linked with a focus on style as collective and dialectic, rather
than stressing its individual, intra-speaker and static nature.
I
think it’s useful to take both social functions and linguistic structure quite
seriously, as Eckert and the CSC do. In work on style and register in Jamaican
Creole (Patrick 1997), I initially tried to give a structural definition of a
code or way of speaking, and ended by including and even stressing the social
functions. It might have been smarter, I suspect, if I first began by locating
codes through their social functions, and then proceeded to examine
their linguistic structure!
We
can see a movement towards functional definition in Wolfram’s and
Schilling-Estes’s (1998) discussion, right away. They include not only the
formal-informal axis of variation, but also treat shifting from one dialect
into another as style-shifting – whether or not the second dialect is native to
the speaker (if not, this use of an out-group dialect has been called "crossing",
Rampton 1995) – as well as shifting registers, in the sense we described
above. Looked at in this light, it’s hard to see why shifting from one language
into another quite distinct one (code-switching) wouldn’t also be
style-shifting for them, and they argue (217) that it’s hard to make
distinctions among these.
3.
Addressee
as an influence on style
a.
Age of addressee
People generally talk
to very young and to the very old.
b.
Social
background of addressee
People talk differently
to the higher class and to the lower class.
B. Context
Context is a concept, schematic
structure that is in the mind, respectively each humans mind. Context can also
be derived from previous events and individual formed phsychological.
The
language context in English is same with language context in Indonesia.
Example:
Yesterday
in the wellington district court….the all black captain, Jock Hobbs, appeared
as duty solicitor. Presiding was his father, Judge M.F Hobbs.
Etiquette
required Mr. Hobbs to address his father young honour, or sir, and the beach
had to address counsel as Mr. Hobbs.
(Mr.
Hobbs) could not remember the last time he had to call his father sir, said the
father to son, when the son announced his appearance on all matters as duty
solicitor: “I appropriate the difficulties you are labouring under, Mr. Hobbs.
People
who were very close to her used a short form of her first name (Meg), or an
endearment. People who were less close and socially subordinate used her title
and last name (Mrs. Walker). In the example, the choice of appropriate form is
influenced not by personal relationship between the participants, but by the
formality of the context and their relative roles and situates within that
setting.
A
law court is a formal setting where the social rules of participants over ride
their personal relationship in determining the appropriate linguistics form. In
classroom where a child’s mother or father is the teacher, the same pattern is
usually found. Children call their parents Mrs. Grady and Mr. Davis rather than
Mom and Dad. A catholic priest will be addressed as Father even by his own
father during a religious ceremony. People’s rules in these formal contexts
determine the appropriate speech form.
Example:
Judge
: I see the cops say you were pickled last night and were driving an old jalopy
down the middle of the road. True?
Defendant
: Your honour, if I might be permitted to address this allegation, I should
like to report that I was neither inebriated nor under the influence of an
alcoholic beverage of any kind.
The
formal and Latinate vocabulary appropriate to very formal setting inebriated,
alcoholic, beverage, and allegation - contrast with the inappropriately
informal vocabulary used here for humorous effect. Words such as pickled and
jalopy are heard much more casual contexts.
C. Register
Register
is the language used at any given moment; and depend on: what do you do,
by whom and by what means. Register indicates the type of social process is
going on.
Registers
can simply be described as variations of the language according to its use,
while the dialect as a language variation based on users registers on this
concept is not limited to the choice of words (such as the notion registers in
the traditional theory) but also includes the choice of the use of text
structure, and texture: cohesion and teksikogramatical , as well as phonology
or graphology choice. Because the register covers all aspects of language or
linguistic choices, many linguists refer to registers as a style or a style of
language.
Variations
in language choice of the register depend on the context of the situation,
which includes three variables: field (domain), tenor (context) and mode
(infrastructure) which works simultaneously to form a configuration or
configures contextual meaning.
1.
How
to study Register
In their book Sociolinguistic
Perspectives on Register, Douglas Biber and Edward Finegan provide an
analytic framework to follow when studying register. Biber begins with
his definition of register as being “a general cover term for all language
varieties associated with different situations and purposes” . The
framework should include and distinguish between characteristics of linguistic
and non-linguistic factors and should use these differences for a
classification of register.
In The communicative
characteristics of participants involved in the situation taking place must be
taken into consideration, beginning with the addressor(s), which can be the
writer or speaker. This will be a singular person; several people, as in
a co-authored work; or institutional, as in departmental or government
document. The addressee(s) will be singular, as in a dyadic conversation
or a letter; plural, as in a classroom; or unremunerated, such as in a novel or
a magazine. Next, we must examine the relations between the addressor and
addressee, taking into account the social role each participant maintains. Age,
occupation, and shared knowledge, whether on the topic and/or personal
background, all play important parts in determining this relationship. In
regards to relative status and power, it is necessary to determine which one
has the most power or if they share an equal status.
When and where the
communication takes place is referred to as setting. Biber identifies
settings with a particular context of use or domain. He distinguishes six
primary domains: “Business and workplace, education and academic, government
and legal, religious, art and entertainment and domestic/personal” (43).
Within each of these areas, there exists a public and a private setting.
Technology such as TV, radio, or any type of mass media can be used to represent
or present these domains. It must be taken into account that a difference among
registers may arise when the time of communication and place are shared, as in
direct conversation in the presence of each other. Participants can share
time and be familiar with, but not actually share place, as in a telephone
conversation.
And also, how the
addressor presents the information and how the addressee receives it should
also be considered. Another factor important in differentiating among registers
is the different purposes, intents, and goals of the addressor. At one
extreme are registers that attempt to explain or describe facts. At the
other end of the spectrum are registers that are completely fictional or
overtly imaginative. Between these two extremes are a variety of
registers such as position papers, historical fiction, editorials,
philosophical arguments, and theoretical position papers. As for purpose,
Biber characterizes it along four parameters: “‘persuade’ (or sell), ‘transfer
information’, ‘entertain’ (or edify), and reveal self".
Lastly, the topic or subject being
discussed--whether popular, generalized, or specialized--needs to be
considered. If the subject is specialized, it must be noted accordingly,
examples being science, finances, politics, sports, and law.
2.
Some
Types of Registers
- Formal
Register: A type of register that
incorporates Standard American English and is used by professionals or in
situations where people are not familiar with one another.
- Informal
Register: A type of register used with more
familiar people in casual conversation. In the informal style of
register, contractions are used more often, rules of negation and
agreement may be altered, and slang or colloquialisms may be used.
Informal register also permits certain abbreviations and deletions, but
they are rule governed. For example, deleting the "you"
subject and the auxiliary often shorten questions. Instead of
asking, "Are you running in the marathon," a person might ask,
"Running the marathon?"
- Over-formal
Register: A type of register that can be
characterized by the use of a false high-pitched nasal voice. For
example, a woman might approach another woman whom she does not really
like and ask her cordially in a high-pitched voice, "How are you
doing?"
- Motherese:
A type of register characterized by
high-pitched, elongated sounds and "sing-song" intonation.
It is used when people speak to infants, young children, or pets.
- Reporting
Register: A type of register characterized by
easily observable verbal and non-verbal cues: flat intonation, rapid
rate of speech, relatively low pitch, absence of marked facial
expressions, and gestures.
CHAPTER
III
CONCLUSION
People’s speech
reflects not only aspects of their identity such as their ethnicity, age,
gender, and social background; it also reflects the contexts in which they are
using the language. The way people talk in court, in school, at business
meetings and at graduation ceremonies reflect the formality of those context and
the social roles people take in them.
Style,
Context and Register is continuity. So, if we only discuss one of them, such as
Context or Style, the understanding will not occur. In this chapter
is concerned with language users and
to whom that language users use language.
Automatically, it can be seen the context and style registers in the talks.
Actually, the understanding about the context and style has already in our
activity, so we have just improved it well by learning from the environment and
education. Variations in language, which is a variation of the diversity of
backgrounds and languages. So, people will absorb the language of others who
are considered attractive, but still within the scope of understanding.
REFERENCES
Holmes,
Janet. 1992. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. London: Longman.
Kushartanti,
Untung Yuwono. 2007. Pesona Bahasa: Langkah Awal Memahami Linguistic.
Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Umum.
Maharani,
Made Ayu Winda. 2011. Style, Context and Register. Available at:
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