Registers of Written English

The language of literature has received much critical attention but functional varieties of written English have not been dealt with adequately by comparison. This edited collection examines the language of several varieties of functional English within the framework of Michael Halliday's theory of register. Analysis of examples of written English, including newspapers, advertising, and business letters, illuminate many linguistic and discoursal features that have usually been taken for granted. In each analysis the relationship between language and situation is emphasized and numerous examples are quoted from a variety of sources.