ABSTRACT
In this chapter and chapter 11, we discuss the principal implications for translation of language variety. There are four main ways in which oral and written language manifests variety (affecting textual variables on all levels -phonic, graphic, morphological, syntactical and lexical):
Social register — users choose forms of language appropriate for particular social situations or topics, with varying degrees of formality, different stylistic conventions and employing particular subsets of their vocabulary.
Tonal register — users choose forms of language designed to convey their attitude towards what is being expressed or towards their addressees (or to generate an emotional response from addressees).
Dialect — speakers use forms of language that are particular to specific geographical areas and act as markers of identity and origin (and which are perceived as related but distinct by speakers of other dialects of the same language).
Sociolect — speakers use forms of language that are particular to specific social groups (socio-economic classes, occupations, age-groups, subcultures) and which are often perceived as markers of social status.
