Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Functions of a Language
Objectives
Recall the characteristics of language
Identify the elements of a language
Identify the various functions of language
Describe these functions
Characteristics of a Language
Human
Non-Instinctive
Systematic
Verbal
Symbolic
Dynamic
Maturational
Arbitrary
Elements of Language:
What do you know when you
know a language?
Phonetics - the study of speech sounds
Phonology - the study of the sound system of a
language
Morphology the study of the grammatical
structure of words
Semantics the study of different aspects of
meaning
Elements of Language:
What do you know when you
know a language? 2
its uses
Functions of Language
Communicative Performative
Informative Social
Reflective Identifying
Expressive Phatic
Directive Imprecatory
Ritual
Communicative
Main function
Used for communicating our ideas, information
and our thoughts via statements, questions and
commands
Informative
Essentially, the communication of information
to others.
Affirms or denies propositions, as in science or
the statement of a fact.
Used to describe the world or reason about it.
Reflective
Use of language to savour the past, ponder on
spoken or written words and to think out
strategies for coping with and controlling the
physical, as well as spiritual world.
Expressive
Reports feelings or attitudes of the writer (or
speaker), or of the subject, or evokes feelings in
the reader (or listener).
Speech or writing is viewed as cathartic.
Poetry and literature are among the best
examples of this function.
Directive
Language used for the purpose of causing (or
preventing) overt action.
Most commonly found in commands and
requests.
Ritual
Also known as ceremonial language use
Not necessarily to communicate but to include
the individual as part of a social (group) activity
Used to pass on rituals and traditions
Performative
Language which performs the action it reports.
For example, "I do" in the marriage ceremony
and the use of performative verbs such as
"accept," "apologize," "congratulate," and
"promise."
These words denote an action which is performed
by using the verb in the first personnothing more
need be done to accomplish the action.
Social
In-group language e.g. teenage coinages, dialects
Identifying
Language reveals information about the speaker
Cultural Identity Marker language conveys
information about your country of origin
Phatic
Does not necessarily seek to generate a
meaningful response
Most obvious in spoken communication
Imprecatory
Language used to curse
Note Well