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Dimensions of register variation in Somali

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Douglas Biber  and
Mohamed Hared
Douglas Biber
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University
Mohamed Hared
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University
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Abstract

The present study uses a multidimensional approach to analyze the linguistic characteristics of Somali spoken and written registers. Somali is unusual in that it has a very short history of literacy (only since 1973), but at present it has a wide range of written and spoken registers, including governmental, educational, and public information uses. It thus represents a very different language type from previously described languages. We analyze the distribution of 65 linguistic features across 279 texts from 26 spoken and written registers, using factor analysis to identify five major dimensions of variation. None of these dimensions defines an absolute dichotomy between spoken and written registers, although three of the dimensions can be considered “oral/literate” parameters. As in the multidimensional analyses of other languages, the present study shows that no single dimension adequately describes the relations among spoken and written registers; rather, each dimension reflects a different set of communicative functions relating to the purpose, general topic, degree of interactiveness, personal involvement, production circumstances, and other physical mode characteristics. In the conclusion, we briefly discuss our findings relative to previous multidimensional analyses of English, Tuvaluan, and Korean, laying the foundation for cross-linguistic analyses of universal tendencies of register variation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , March 1992 , pp. 41 - 75
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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