Applying Language Study to Texts

Abstract

In earlier chapters we have discussed broad categories of English which we have identified according to historical, social or geographical criteria. Within these categories, however, it is possible to identify further differences which may cross these boundaries or be contained within them. These differences, and the uses to which they are put, are what we mean by style. The chief factors which govern the choice of style are the purpose for which the language is being used and the relationship between the users and the field of discourse — the ‘use-related variants’ referred to in Chapter 4. As native speakers of English we may recognise and use many of these differences instinctively, but it is important for us, as language students, to be able to identify the linguistic features which characterise different styles of discourse, to discriminate between their effects, and to assess their effectiveness.