This article expands the study of registers in conversational and written language with empirical data collected from different situations throughout the daily activities of two bilingual populations at a university in Southern... more
This article expands the study of registers in conversational and written language with empirical data collected from different situations throughout the daily activities of two bilingual populations at a university in Southern California. It explores the importance of register distinction in the classroom. This is done by studying the use of formal and informal register at the university between two bilingual populations throughout the tasks they perform on a daily basis. Language samples used in a normal day were collected and transcribed for analysis. A qualitative analysis was performed using characteristics previously studied by Valdés and Geoffrion-Vinci in 1998: lexical choice, integration versus fragmentation and detachment versus involvement. Results indicated similarities in the use of Spanish register used among the two populations studied. A presence of informal register was found in formal contexts by both bilingual populations. Implications for curriculum and course development including register topics are discussed. Index Terms-heritage language learner, Spanish, discourse analysis, academic register, bilingual populations, informal register, Spanish register analysis