Functions of language and communication - 1000 words paper due in 24 hours

Functions of Language in Communication

Up to this point, we have been examining what we might call inherent properties of language: the cognitive nature of language, how it is theoretically structured into units such as phonemes, morphemes and sentences and how these units are processed mentally. Our focus of concern now shifts to the communicative purposes or functions of language by examining the various uses that people make of language in different situations. In this part of the course we will focus on the idea that when we use language we do not simply do so to communicate information but rather to accomplish a wide range of functions. Understanding meaning in spoken communication involves recognising and responding to these functions appropriately.

To take a simple example, if you find yourself shivering in a drafty classroom, you might say to a classmate sitting by an open window, ‘Gee, it’s kind of cold in here’. If in response to this statement your classmate gets up and closes the window, they have interpreted your words not as a mere observation, but rather as and indirect request for action (closing the window). On countless occasions across any given day we appropriately use and understand language used for functional purposes, including requests, affirmation of social relationships, the expression of emotions, and so forth. Two very broad functions of language we can distinguish are as a means of stimulation (that is, playful or creative language) and secondly language as a means of control (that is, manipulative language aimed to persuade).

Although we will study selected functions in isolation, it is important to remember that often a stretch of language will exhibit a variety of functions and people involved in a communicative event may not always interpret language use the same way. Thus, our aim in studying the functional use of language is to increase your awareness of how language is used to achieve specific outcomes. This is of course highly relevant to all of us in our daily personal and professional lives as well as for students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Communication degree where language awareness is of central importance (e.g. in areas like Linguistics, English, International Languages, Media Studies, or Journalism and Marketing Communication.

2.0 General overview of language functions

Contrary to popular belief, the ‘information function’ is not the only function of language in communication; indeed, it is often not even the most common function. British linguist John Firth notes

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that language is “a way of behaving and making others behave” (Firth 1957, as cited in Berns, 1984, p. 5) in certain ways. Firth’s idea of language as behaviour is an important one and several researchers have provided useful descriptions of the many ways we use language to manipulate certain outcomes. Michael Halliday, an eminent linguist working out of Australia, has advocated a functional approach to language which goes beyond the concept of purpose or use and which views function as built into the organisation of language itself:

A functional approach to language means, first of all investigating how language is used: trying to find out what are the purposes that language serves for us, and how we are able to achieve these purposes through speaking and listening, reading and writing. But it also means more than this. It means seeking to explain the nature of language in functional terms: seeing whether language itself has been shaped by use, and if so, in what ways, how the form of language has been determined by the function it has evolved to serve. (Halliday 1973, p. 7).

While different researchers have described some of the same (or similar) language functions using different or partly overlapping labels, we will focus on one set of descriptions of language functions provided in Reading 13. To start off, you will note a distinction into broader macro (or meta) functions and micro functions. The former draw our attention to our metalinguistic capacity, using language that describes, explains or refers to language itself. In other words, we use metalinguistic language to talk about language. When we describe the syntax of a sentence as consisting of nouns and verbs, for example, we are employing metalinguistic functions. But the metalinguistic function is not restricted to grammarians or linguists. For instance, if someone asks us for the meaning of a word or expression – e.g. ‘When New Zealanders use sweet as what do they mean?’ – they are using language to talk about language. Similarly, when parents correct their children – e.g. ‘It’s ate, Sweetie, not eated’ – or scold them for using an inappropriate word, their communication serves a metalinguistic purpose. And it goes without saying that much of what we are learning in this course is conveyed through metalingual language.

THE OVERLAPPING COMPLEXITY OF LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS

Communication may fulfill more than one function at the same time. Hence, attempting to capture all of the functions that language fulfils is no easy task and lists of functions are inevitable not exhaustive. For example, if you think about advertisements, you might see them as a way to persuade us to do something, however, they can also be very entertaining in some respects as well which, in turn, likely supports the persuasive function. Thus, to use Finch (2003), we could argue that ads serve a poetic or pleasure function as well. These functions are not mutually exclusive: it is possible for one advertisement combines multiple functions whose combined effect could be that we

notice and buy the product being advertised, without any explicit instruction.

The functional approach to language has been extended by some linguists to an analysis of the particular intention behind individual utterances. The actions that are carried out through language are termed speech acts. Examples of these are ‘complaining’, ‘praising’, ‘threatening’, ‘promising’, ‘apologising’, ‘warning’, ‘congratulating’, and so on. Sometimes these speech acts are direct in that the words expressed can be taken at their face value, but often they are indirect instead. Compare, for instance, a direct apology using the very words “I apologise” with something more indirect such as

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“I was wrong” or “I won’t do it again”, where the latter might also be understood as a promise. It is part of our communicative competence to interpret the communicative intent of an utterance. Regardless of the speech act type, what underlies each is a shared awareness of the intention to communicate and what Finch (2003) calls “an ethical imperative to cooperate” (p. 36). The so-called cooperative principle refers to our seemingly unspoken agreement to commit to a number of ‘maxims which help us ensure communicative process sufficiently informative, truthful, relevant and clear. We will study the cooperative principle in more detail in the next section on ‘Spoken Communication’, and in particular Reading 14 by Finegan (2008).

SUMMARY

To summarise, much of the language used in communicative events fulfils more than one function simultaneously and at various levels. Figure 2.3 in Reading 10 provides a helpful overview of the seven micro functions introduced by Finch (2008) and how these align to some broader functions and associated competences, all of which make up our linguistic competence. To relate this reading to yourself, think about the different ways you use language and what kinds of purposes they might serve. Do you think you are conscious of the choices you make? Are there any recurring patterns?

To become more aware of the role language functions play, we need to be aware of what a given piece of discourse is meant to accomplish and then try to find examples of language use within the discourse that help achieve specific functions or purposes. We will practise such discourse analysis more hands- on later.

1 Bardsley, D. (2013). English language in New Zealand - Characteristics of New Zealand English. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/40317/bugger-offensive-no- more

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