On Register

1 Introduction

According to Halliday，the register refers to the functional variety of language，which is the variation of language with the change of context of situation.And context of situation means the direct context that is the direct environment of conducting communication.The context includes filed of discourse，tenor of discourse and mode of discourse.The filed refers to the subject matter.The tenor may be intimate or distant like husband and wife or strangers.Mode refers to the medium or channel of communication.It can be spoken or written，like daily communication or poems.Therefore，the register existed in our daily communication.It depends on the real situation，which is different from genre relying on the cultural context.In the different situation，different register should be taken into consideration.In the process of communication，it includes provider，receiver and environment.When we are conducting communication with others，we must communicate in the appropriate register accepted by the receivers.The author wants to express some understandings about register from the perspective of its functions，the relationship with dialects and misunderstandings between register and genre.

2 Analysis

As for the function of the register，the author reckons that it can promote communication.It helps the providers to choose the suitable context to describe something，for example，in a bathroom，a mom introduces the daily supplies.Maybe the children cannot completely express the name of these daily supplies.Nevertheless，the situation happens in the bathroom，and the children can observe some stuff in the bathroom so that he can understand what his mother talks about.And in the class，three processes are included.Firstly，teacher asks questions，then students answer questions，and finally teacher give feedback.Provided that we are not in this situation，it may cause some misunderstandings and failure of communications.The teacher must choose the subject of class through the spoken medium and written medium，and the students participate in the class to answer questions.And the register can be transferred depending on the real situation of the receivers.Given that some linguists make some academic reports for linguists，they may use some more professional words or linguistic words.On the condition that they make reports for some abecedarians，they will transfer the register to help them understand，including using the simpler linguistic vocabulary.Sometimes，the improper use of register will result in so many problems.Therefore，in order to improve the communication，it is wise to take the receivers background，position and the subject of communication into account.As a result，the register plays an important role to promote communications.Whats more，the register can be used to predict the texts structures，which also promotes communication.Sometimes，the receiver can also predict some contexts，for example，in the news report，the reporter uses some vocabulary about earthquake，and receivers can understand what really happens.Additionally，in the course of listening，provided that students can predict the text based on the register manifested in the listening questions，which enable students to finish the listening tasks correctly.

The author wants to discuss the distinctions between register and genre.The genre can determine the indispensable elements，optional elements and repeat elements，for example，when writing a letter，some necessary components are needed.Comparing genre with register，register express the detailed situation of the communication，and genre decide the structure of the text.When teachers conducting listening teaching，teachers will choose some different genres for students like news reports，stories and so on.The students predict these texts according to registers including the subject of these listening materials，social distance of the participants and the medium.Consequently，genre gives the concrete schema for the texts，and the register gives the detailed situation to receivers.

3 Conclusion

In sum，in order to understand the concept of register，it is necessary to comprehend the functions of register，the relationship between register and dialect and the distinctions of register and genre.

作者簡介

李晓娅（1994.08—），女，汉族，四川成都人，硕士研究生，研究方向：商务英语。