GRAMMATICAL ORIENTATION CORRELATED WITH REGISTER: AN ANALYSIS FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
GRAMMATICAL ORIENTATION CORRELATED WITH REGISTER: AN ANALYSIS FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Summary/Abstract: Languages can be classified into three types, e.g. situation-oriented (e.g. Russian, Chinese, etc.), speaker-oriented (e.g. Bulgarian, Turkish, etc.) and hearer-oriented (e.g. English, Danish, etc.) (Durst-Anderssen 2005, 2006, 2008). In this paper, it is argued that the difference in spoken and written discourse can be compared to different patterns in these classificatory types, and historical changes in register can be explained through changes in these types. Due to gradualness of changes, one can find overlap in features, but orientation types presented here can be a useful indicator of register, especially from historical perspectives.

• Details
• Contents