ABSTRACT
This chapter examines features of speech style in a range of contexts which vary in formality, looking at the interaction between the formality and status dimensions. It investigates the way that distinctive styles or registers may be shaped by the functional demands of particular situations or occupations. The chapter considers the influence of the addressee on the speaker's language, exemplifying from less formal contexts where the degree of solidarity between participants is an important factor contributing to choice of speech style. People's styles of speech and written communication index not only aspects of their identity such as their ethnicity, age, gender and social background; they also indicate the contexts in which language is being used. Speech divergence does not always indicate a speaker's negative attitudes towards the addressees. People's roles in the formal contexts strongly influence the appropriate speech forms.
