Towards an understanding of contextual features that influence the linguistic formality of British Sign Language users

This paper seeks to understand linguistic formality through the identification and measurement of contextual features. Using an adapted sociometric methodology to combine systemic functional linguistics and sign linguistics, a survey identifies the elements of context that have an effect upon the level of linguistic formality employed by British Sign Language users. The responses of 51 participants are analysed in order to ascertain (i) the level of linguistic formality that would be employed in certain communicative scenarios, and (ii) the contextual features of these scenarios that have an influence on linguistic formality. The results obtained from this study posit that there is an overall agreement shared between British Sign Language users when choosing levels of linguistic formality based on broad contextual description alone. The people involved in the communication and their interpersonal relationships tend to be the biggest influence on the level of formality employed, whereas the topic of the interaction appears to show no significant influence upon linguistic formality on its own. This work contributes further evidence to the importance of studying language within communicative contexts and the importance of formality as an influential factor in linguistic production. It is hoped that this will encourage future studies to derive linguistic data of British Sign Language users, or indee

Register: A functional linguistic theory

This thesis is an exploration of ways in which the relationship between the 'how' and 'what' of textual meaning and variation can be theorised. Its major aim is to develop a functional theory of language which specifies register in terms of contextual and linguistic features, and which postulates a discursive relationship between the two. It aims, therefore, to theorise, in a more developed way than has so far been done, a functional linguistic account of register and a theoretical understanding of the relationship between text, context, language function and linguistic form. To this end I develop a conceptual model of contextualisation and relate this to a Cline of Register by which the progression of textual meaning, discursive variation and functional complexity can be represented