Issues being covered in this topic are:
- High Register and other registers
- High Register speech: How To
- Middle and Old English
So, let's get to the first point!
What is a register?
In linguistics, a register is a definite variation of a language used for particular purposes or social settings. When speaking with HRM, for example, a person would use a formal register, in which one adheres more closely to what is universally defined as "Prescribed Grammar". Hence, he will tend to use more formal words ("buddy" becomes "friend", "kid" becomes "child/son", etc.) and he will refrain from using contractions.
That said, registers are not an "exact science", and the society of linguisticians as a whole has yet to come to a general agreement over what really defines a register. Under this light, keep in mind that what I am about to write is not the absolute universal truth, and should be taken with a grain of salt.
How many kinds of registers are present in Spoken/Written English?
Again, there is very little agreement. At the very minimum, though, I would say that there are at least five of them.
- "Frozen": Aka "static" or "archaic". It's called this way because it can be found only on documents/scriptures whose grammar is never altered due to religious/cultural reasons. The Bible and the Pledge of Allegiance are a primary example of this type of register.
- "Formal": Made of technical vocabulary, latinisms, no contractions, no interruptions. Most commonly used during presentations, introductions between strangers and interactions in formal environments.
- "Consultative": Two-way participation, with interruptions being quite common. Examples include teacher/student, doctor/patient, expert/apprentice, etc.
- "Casual": In-group friends and acquaintances. Slang and interruptions are common. Mainly used by friends and close acquaintances, or in unformal environments.
- "Intimate": Often made of private vocabulary that references happenings/facts/anecdotes only known by the speakers. Often includes non-verbal messages (E.G.: speaking one's mind with a mere glance, hugs and other forms of body language).
The last three types are quite obvious and self-evident, so I will avoid covering them in this topic. The most insidious ones are the first two, and those are the ones that will be covered from now on. So let's get to the questions!
Is it normal to always speak in a High Register? And those that always speak in a high register, do so because they are snotty, overly posh and arrogant?
Yes and no. In real life, there are linguisticians that always express themselves in slang because they find the idea of always speaking in a high register horrible, and there are linguisticians that always speak in high register English because it's basically the register they most commonly use and it is "hard coded" into their brains. There are Earls that loathe mannerism and revert to cussing and swearing whenever they get the chance. Lord Horatio Nelson wasn't above speaking in jargon, for example.
High Register speech: How To
What kind of character should, roleplay-wise, speak in a high-register at all times?Good question. From a role-play perspective, I would say that people coming from educated or privileged enviroments are the more likely to speak in a high-register at all times, even with complete strangers. Wizards, Nobles, Paladins, and similar characters are most commonly the ones that would find speaking in high-register English common.
My suggestion is: think of why would your character always speak in a high-register. He could very well be a perfectly educated gentleman, or an obnoxious magician that uses high register to patronize people with a lesser education. In the end it's up to you.
When should we speak in Formal Register, then?
During formal/official situations, like say, open stage nights at the Theatre, when dealing with nobility, high clergy, during diplomatic meetings, etc. Or you can always speak in Formal Register if you like the idea of having an uber snotty character that patronizes almost everyone and everything.
Great Darks, it's all cool and neat, but, uh...could you give me any useful tips? How would a High Register using toon speak like?
The list is somewhat long and isn't even absolutely complete, still, here are the most useful tips if you want your character to speak in High Register English.
1) Avoid phrasal verbs if possible. Phrasal verbs are most oftenly associated with slang and colloquial jargon than with formal speech.
Examples:
"to Bully" instead of "to pick on"
"to Protect" instead of "to look after"
"to Mention" instead of "to bring something up".
2) Use Latin derived words. I would recommend using them fairly often, but not always. For a couple of reasons:
A) While latinisms are indeed high register words, most people do not know all of them/are unfamiliar with them. So spare them the pain of always having to look on the dictionary.
B) A character that ONLY uses latinisms is overacting on his high-register to the point of being ridiculous.
That said, here are some examples:
- "Sesquipedalian", for example, would be a very high-register word when referring to a particularly long speech.
- "to deambulate" instead of "to walk"
- "conscientious" instead of "thorough"
- "disputatious" instead of "argumentative"
- "obnoxious" instead of "annoying"
- "contentious" instead of "quarrelsome"
- "callous" instead of "jaded"
Tip 1: if an English adjective ends in -ous, there are very good chances that the word derives from Latin. So don't be afraid to use it!
Tip 2: German-derived (that is, Saxon) words should be avoided, when having to choose between them and Latin-derived words for one's high register speech.
Tip 3: French-derived words are more or less fine for High Register, as long as they derive from Latin in turn (Most French words do, but there is a sizeable 30% of them that does not)
3) Avoid ellipsis (that is, omission from a sentence of one or more words that would otherwise be required by the remaining elements) of any kind. Instead of saying, for example, "Duke Eltan wields a sword, Scar a mandolin", you should say "Duke Eltan wields a sword, Scar wields a mandolin".
4) Avoid contractions, OF ANY KIND. Almost all if not all linguisticians are more or less concordant on the fact that contractions should not be used when assuming a formal pattern of speech. Avoid "Don't", "Won't", "Shan't", "Can't", "Ain't". Use "Do not", "Will not", "Shall not", "Am not".
Similarly, avoid "S'more", "tell 'em", "wieldin'", "sayin'" "killin'", etc. In short, don't shorten words!
5) Most importantly: AVOID MIDDLE ENGLISH, AND ESPECIALLY MOCK OLD ENGLISH. Old English and Middle English are NOT the languages people most commonly associate with "Archaic English" or "formal speech". They are NEVER used in real life, no matter what, and they most definitely do not constitute formal speech. Which brings us to...
Middle and Old English
Huh? What do you mean, "Old English and Middle English?" Aren't they the same?
Well, contrarily to popular belief, not at all.
Old English (aka Ænglisc) is, or should I say was, the language spoken by the ancient Anglo-Saxons (originally a Western-Germanic tribe) from the 5th century A.D. to around the 12th century A.D. Again contrarily to popular beliefs, Ænglisc WAS FAR FROM SIMILAR TO TODAY'S ENGLISH.
In case you are wondering how different Old English was from contemporary English, here is a short example:
Ēadig, þec tō mētenne
This sentence would translate as "Nice to meet you" in modern English.
Alright, what about Middle English?
Middle English was the language spoken in England between the 12th century and 15th century A.D. Again, contrarily to popular beliefs, Middle English is NOT the English written or spoken by Shakespear or Marlowe. Middle English should be seen as a transitionary form, a "Proto-English" of sorts, a mixture of French and Saxon slowly evolving into a completely new language.
It's only from the beginning of the 15th century that English starts becoming similar to the modern version (what most people consider "Archaic English"). Marlowe and Shakespear wrote in Early Modern English. This is the main reasons for their original works being fairly intelligible even by a modern English speaker.
Useful! But what does this have to do with your topic?
Simply put, most people think that the High Register of the good ole days was Middle English. Which is far from the truth. Formal Register in Medieval England was conveyed through the usage of French (unless you were a monk or a scientist, in which case the Formal Register was conveyed through Latin) since most of the ruling class was composed of French-speaking Normans. Eventually the Old English and French merged together to form what is today known as English. In short, avoid using Old English or Middle English patterns of speech if you want to have your character speak Formally.
Even more so, avoid attempting to give yourself a High Register by using a "mock Middle English" like, for examples, adding an "-e" to every word ending in a consonant. Middle English, and even Early Modern English, had basically no codified set of grammatical rules whatsoever.
Bicause, let as aedmet it, noe 2 thynges, can be moare equelle.
Words could be spelled however the author felt like spelling them, which is why we can have some real messes like the afore sentence or this:
Tip: While "Old English, Middle English" patterns of speech should be avoided at all costs when trying to speak formally, I need to highlight the word "ye".Such a word has two meanings: it either is an archaic form to write "the", or it is an archaic word to address someone of higher social status than you.
This stems from the fact that "the" was once written with the letter þ ("thorn"), which looked very much like a "y" in written cursive. The second use of the word derives from the Old English second person plural pronoun "gē", and the French habit of addressing nobility by using the second person plural (the French vous, which is still used in formal contexts today). "Ye" as "you" for referring to a single individual is nowadays used most oftenly in Northern England and Ireland, but again, using "Ye" is not really formal.
Alright Darks, you've explained us that Old and Middle English should not be used for speaking in High Register. What about Early Modern English, aka "Archaic English"? Should we avoid it at all costs? Are there really no good situations in which we could used it?
Well. As my professor used to say, "the Queen of England does not use "thou" instead of "you", why should you?"
If you are really aiming at a high register, you should also avoid Early Modern English. At least in real life, EME is used only when citing very specific material, like quotes from the Old Testament, the Gospels, the Pledge of Alliance, the works of Marlowe and Shakespear, et similia, this means that a preacher/paladin quoting excerpts of his deity's holy books using EME would be perfectly feasible. Speaking in Early Modern English at all times, not much. If you really want to speak in EME, though, here is a small table that you might find useful. Nothing earth shattering, but it'll help you with verbs and articles.
And remember, this is not a list detailing how you MUST speak In Character, but rather a list containing suggestions detailing how you should speak In Character if your toon has a certain demeanor/education or finds himself in a formal context.
Final note: Dwarves, being Dwarves and speaking in a stereotypical (and lovely!) Scottish English are obviously exempt from these suggestions.
Well, this pretty much sums up everything I can think of at the moment! For any questions or doubts, feel free to poke me by writing in this thread. Stay frosty people of BGTSCC!
