Modeling Register Distances Based on Variations in Language Use

What is it about?

When language users have a choice between different ways of saying similar things (e.g., cut off the tops vs. cut the tops off), how would they make choices in different communicative situations (registers)? In this spirit, we present an innovative modelling of distances between five register categories: spoken formal (e.g.,legal presentations ), spoken informal (e.g., phone calls), written formal (e.g., academic writing), written informal (e.g., novels), and online language (e.g., blogs), by analysing English speakers’ use of three alternations: genitive (e.g., the president’s speech vs. the speech of the president), dative (e.g., give Heidi the key vs. give the key to Heidi) , and particle placement (e.g., cut the flowers off vs. cut off the flowers).

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Why is it important?

For the first time, it offers a robust method for quantifying differences in register-specific language use. By successfully exploring register variation through the lens of corpus-based variationist linguistics, it provides a new framework for understanding how language adapts across different contexts and modes of communication.