COMPARATIVE REGISTER ANALYSIS

Comparative Register Analysis

Comparative Register Analysis

Introduction

Linguistic analysis requires a number of different features of a language in a number of different situations. Context or register play a very important role in understanding the meanings of an utterance or a word in a particular situation. Traditional study of registers generally involves relation between a context and grammatical patterns of a text. According to Halliday, registers are the set of meanings that are based on the “specific conditions” with certain “semantic pattern” with the “words and structures that are used in the realization of these meanings" (Halliday, 1978, p.23). Therefore, proper application of critical discourse analysis and semantic understanding is required to analyze a text.

The significance and impact of register of context can be analyzed with the comparison of two texts on the same subject matter in differ context and in different semantic patterns. Therefore, comparative analysis of a register requires understand various components of a language such as field, tenor and mode (Biber, 1995, p.8). These three contexts or register variables are further based on the type of meaning, i.e. whether it is ideational, interpersonal or textual. It is also associated with the understanding of these patterns on the language and discourse semantic patterns and lexico-grammatical patterns. All these features are very essential in analysing register or for the comparative analysis of register.

On the basis of above understanding, there is comparative register analysis of written text (Text 1) and face-to-face conversation (Text 2) on the topic of a proposed theme park in France, by following 'Scheme for register analyses'(see Appendix).

Field

Field deals with the subject matter/domain of the text or conversation. It is associated with the study of difference in context on the basis of difference in experiences or situation. It is generally associated with the study and understanding of the linguistic functions. According to Hatim and Mason, field is the analysis of event and information about “what has taken place” (Hatim & Mason, 1990, p.55). Halliday also defined it as a situation as "what is happening, to the nature of the social action that is taking place," (Hasan and Halliday, 1985:12) it is reflected with the language and this assist in analysing the experience and structure of the text, utterance or conversation. It is therefore dependant on the linguistic features of the text such as lexis, transivity, grammar and other aspects of the linguistic analysis.

Written Text (Text 1)

France plans Napoleon land: French Theme Park

Face-To-Face Conversation (Text 2) French Theme Park

Field: subject matter/domain of the text

The subject matter of the text is taken from the article of the newspaper “The Telegraph” in which the writer Henry Samuel write with much thought and concern about the French theme park that was planned in honour of Napoleon Bonaparte, after 200 years of his death (www.telegraph.co.uk). In this article, writer discussed the plan of the park with mentioning the names of important personalities involved in the plan of amusement part. This article provides concrete information on the subject matter with statistics ...