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Architecture of a language: dimensions of variation 
Diaphasic variation or Stylistic variation 
Dimension Explanation Examples 
Diaphasic or 
stylistic variation 
(across situation) 
In different communicative 
settings, different levels of 
style/register are used and in 
different social groups (according 
to age, sex, profession ...) 
Youth language, hunters' 
language 
 
It considers the variation in different communicative settings and different 
levels of style/register used in different social groups (according to age, sex, 
profession ...). There are several different types of age-based variation one 
may see within a population. They are: vernacular of a subgroup with 
membership typically characterized by a specific age range, age-graded 
variation, and indications of linguistic change in progress. One example of 
subgroup vernacular is the speech of street youth. Just as street youth dress 
differently from the "norm", they also often have their own "language". The 
reasons for this are the following: (1) To enhance their own cultural identity 
(2) To identify with each other, (3) To exclude others, and (4) To invoke 
feelings of fear or admiration from the outside world. Strictly speaking, this is 
not truly age-based, since it does not apply to all individuals of that age 
bracket within the community. 
 
The appropriate form of language may also change during the course of a 
communicative event as the relationship between speakers’ changes, or 
different social facts become relevant. Speakers may shift styles as their 
perception of an event in progress changes. Settings may be defined in terms 
of greater or lesser formality, or in terms of socially recognized events, such 
as baby talk, which is used in many western cultures when talking to small 
children, or a joking register used in teasing or playing the dozens. There are 
also registers associated with particular professions or interest groups; jargon 
refers specifically to the vocabulary associated with such registers. 
 
 
 
Consider the following telephone call to the Cuban Interest Section in 
Washington, DC. 
 Caller: ¿Es la embajada de Cuba? (Is this the Cuban embassy?) 
Receptionist: Sí. Dígame. (Yes, may I help you?) 
Caller: Es Rosa. (It's Rosa.) 
Receptionist: ¡Ah Rosa! ¿Cóma anda eso? (Oh, Rosa! How's it going?) 
 
At first, the receptionist uses a relatively formal register, as befits her 
professional role. After the caller identifies herself the receptionist 
recognizes that she is speaking to a friend, and shifts to an informal register 
of colloquial Cuban Spanish. This shift is similar to metaphorical code-
switching, but since it involves styles or registers, is considered an example of 
style shifting.