Linguistic Varieties, Semantic Change, and Literary Genres

Linguistic Registers and Stylistic Varieties

Stylistic varieties, or registers, refer to the way a speaker uses a language depending on the communicative situation. This is influenced by the relationship between the sender and receiver, the channel, the topic, the purpose, the time, and the place. There are two main types of registers:

• Formal Register: Used when the relationship between participants is distant. It is characterized by respect for established grammatical rules and a sophisticated use of language.
• Informal Register: Used in familiar and friendly settings. It typically occurs in spontaneous, everyday situations and is a practical language, aiming for concrete and immediate communication.

Literary Education: Theatrical Genres

Drama

Drama is a theatrical subgenre with the following features:

• Its characters typically face everyday conflicts.
• Its aim is to provoke the viewer's reflection on the subject matter.

Comedy

Comedy is a theatrical subgenre characterized by the following features:

• It presents simple characters who are identifiable with everyday people.
• Its purpose is to entertain the audience.
• It usually has a happy ending.

Glossary of Semantic Change

A semantic change occurs when the meaning of a word evolves over time. These changes can be of different kinds:

• Archaisms: These are obsolete words that are no longer in common use (e.g., doublet, everywhere).
• Neologisms: These are newly created words or expressions that enter the language (e.g., stress, driver).
• Meaning Extension: This happens when a word acquires a new meaning in addition to its existing one. Metaphor is a common process for this, where a concept is designated by the name of another with which it shares some resemblance (e.g., the hand of a clock, a computer mouse).
• Word Substitution: This often occurs to avoid a taboo term—a word with unpleasant or offensive connotations. These replacement words, which are more socially acceptable, are called euphemisms (e.g., using internal instead of prisoner).

Loanwords and Foreignisms

Loanwords and foreignisms are words borrowed from other languages.

• Loanwords: Words that have been adapted to the new language's pronunciation and spelling. They are often included in the dictionary.
• Foreignisms: Words that retain their original spelling and pronunciation. Their use is sometimes considered unnecessary if a native equivalent exists.

Geographical Varieties of Language

Geographical varieties, or dialects, are the different ways a language is used by speakers according to their geographical origin. Examples in Spanish include:

• Historical Varieties: Asturian-Leonese, Navarro-Aragonese.
• Southern Varieties: Andalusian, Murcian, Extremaduran, Canarian.
• American Spanish.

Common Punctuation Uses

Uses of the Hyphen

• To separate elements in a list, such as items or numbers.
• To create compound words.
• To divide a word at the end of a line.

Uses of Parentheses

• To add a clause that interrupts the main sentence and introduces clarifying data (e.g., dates, explanations of acronyms).
• To indicate stage directions or other asides in plays.