Register Analysis: Theory and Practice

Register analysis has been defined by Michael Halliday as an attempt to analyze the linguistic foundations of language we use in given situations, and the ways in which the language we speak or write varies according to the type of situation. Register analysis has been a strong research area in linguistics for several decades. Many people are now working with examples of genuine texts in the hope of establishing the linguistic features which characterize them. Text linguistics, discourse analysis, pragmatics and register and genre all depend on communicative events which have taken place. The first two chapters introduce the subject and the remining chapters illustrate how register analysis can be carried out. This book draws upon a number of theories and models by modern linguists to provide a helpful reference for those interested in the functional varieties of the English language.