style-shifting
Changing communication modes
Style-shifting is adjusting how you speak or write based on context—more formal in a job interview, more casual with friends, different vocabulary with specialists versus laypeople.
Everyone does it unconsciously, though some shift more dramatically than others.
Linguists use the term to describe this natural movement between registers: Her style-shifting between boardroom and bar was seamless.
Alternating between linguistic varieties
- registerRecord officially; vocal range
- dialectRegional language variety
- formalityStrict observance of convention
- sociolectLanguage variety by group
vernacular · accommodation · situational · repertoire · convergence · divergence · addressee · interlocutor
Fitting to new conditions
- impression managementControlling perceived identity
- identityWho someone is
- performanceCarrying out a task
- audienceGathered viewers collectively
context · belonging · assimilation · professionalism · authenticity · masking · signaling · fitting in
Following strict protocol
- informalRelaxed, not official
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- workplaceEmployment location
- emailDigital written communication
meeting · interview · technical · casual Friday · water cooler · boardroom · elevator pitch · business casual
Sending typed mobile messages
- emojiDigital pictograph for messaging
- abbreviationShortened word form
- platformRaised flat structure
- TwitterMicroblogging social network
LinkedIn · comment section · hashtag · viral · brand voice · influencer · parasocial · algorithm
code-switching
Alternating between linguistic varieties
- registerRecord officially; vocal range
- dialectRegional language variety
- formalityStrict observance of convention
sociolect · vernacular · accommodation · situational · repertoire · convergence · divergence · addressee · interlocutor · sociolinguistic
adaptation
Fitting to new conditions
- impression managementControlling perceived identity
- identityWho someone is
- performanceCarrying out a task
audience · context · belonging · assimilation · professionalism · authenticity · masking · signaling · fitting in · respectability
formal
Following strict protocol
email · meeting · interview · technical · casual Friday · water cooler · boardroom · elevator pitch · business casual · memo
texting
Sending typed mobile messages
- emojiDigital pictograph for messaging
- abbreviationShortened word form
- platformRaised flat structure
Twitter · LinkedIn · comment section · hashtag · viral · brand voice · influencer · parasocial · algorithm · engagement
- conversationlistening, talk, talking, chat, speaking
- language varietiesdialect, idiolect, sociolect, vernacular, accent
- registerscasual, formal, informal, consultative, colloquial