THE FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE

A. Preface
Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of
society, including cultural norms,expectations, and context, on the way
language is used.It also studies how lects differ between groups separated by
certain social variables , e.g., ethnicity, religion,economic status, gender, level
of education, etc., and how creation and adherence to these rules is used
tocategorize individuals in social classor socio-economic classes. As the usage
of a language varies from placeto place (dialect, language usage varies among
social classes, and it is thes sociolects that sociolinguistics studies. !or
example, a sociolinguist might determine through study of social attitudes that
"lac# $nglish %ernacularwould not be considered appropriate language use in
a business or professional setting& he or she might also study the grammar,
phonetics, vocabulary, and other aspects of this sociolect much as a
dialectologist wouldstudy the same for a regional dialect. 'he study of
language variation is concerned with social constraints determining language
in its contextualenvironment . (ode-switchin g is the term given to the use of
different varieties of language in differentsocial situations.)illiam *abov is
often regarded as the founder of the study of sociolinguistics.Sociolinguistics
differs from sociology of language in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the
effect of thesociety on the language, while the latter+s focus is on the
language+s effect on the society.
B. Definition of language
*anguage is a purely human and non-instinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced
symbols
,
*anguage is the human capacity for ac-uiring and using complex
systems of communication, and a language is any example of such a system of
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complex communication. 'he scientific study of language is called linguistics.
It is impossible to #now precisely how many languages there are in the world,
and the number depends on a partly arbitrary distinction between languages
and dialects. .owever, estimates vary between around 1,222 and 3,222
languages in number. 4atural languages are spo#en or signed, but any
language can be encoded into secondary media using auditory, visual or
tactile stimuli, for example in graphic writing, braille, or whistling. 'his is
because human language is modality-independent. )hen used as a general
concept, 5language5 may refer to the cognitive ability to learn and use systems
of complex communication, or to describe the set of rules that ma#es up these
systems, or the set of utterances that can be produced from those rules.
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C. Function language
6sing a language as a primary means of communicating our thoughts is so natural
for many people that itis often difficult to realize what in fact are language functions. Some
of the roles of language are somundane that they are hardly ever noticed, others are very
elevated, or even abstract. 7ue to their diversity the functions of language might be divided
into two categories8 micro functions which refer tospecific individual uses, and macro
functions which serve more overall aims.
. !icro functions"
a. P#$siological function (releasing physical and nervous energy
Although it might be stri#ing this use of language is fairly common. It is
easily recognizable whendevoted fans of sports are observed while watching their
favourite discipline on '%. Such fans oftenshout instructions, express support, or
disappointment and while as a means of communicating withsportsmen they are
useless, such cheers are to release repressed energy. Similarly curse words are used
toserve this purpose, as they rarely convey any meaning and are only to ma#e the
spea#er feel better.
%. P#atic function (for sociability
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'he use of such phrases as :nice day today;, or :how do you do : is
characterized by lac# of anyinformative content and is intended to lin# people and
ma#e the coexistence peaceful and pleasant. 'he phatic use of language is
characteristic mainly of speech, however, in certain types of writing it can also be
noticed, as in letters for example, where the beginning Dear Sir/Madam and
ending Yours faithfully also serve that purpose.
c. &ecor'ing function
Recording function denotes using language to ma#e a durable record of
things that ought to be remembered. <wing to its omnipresence writing is probably
the most significant function of language. 'here is evidence that the first writing
system was developed in the =iddle $ast as early as >222 "(. Atthe beginning
writing systems too# forms of pictures representing the things they referred to,
gradually developing into the alphabets in their present forms.
'. I'entif$ing function
Language is used also to identify the ob?ects and events in the world we
live in. )ithout this functionlanguage would be almost useless, as it is than#s to the
names of things that we #now what is tal#edabout. =any primitive societies unable
to write believe that names hold great power. $ven in westernculture names are
thought to be immensely important8 the @od;s name ought not to be used in
vain, before giving a name to a newborn child parents consider the choice deeply.
)e use names to classify different types of things, whether we call a car
anautomobile, a lorry, a an or a truc! ma#es a big difference.
e. &easoning function (instrument of thought
"efore we say something we thin# and to do that we necessarily use
language. In most cases it isextremely difficult to thin# about anything without any
use of words. In fact is it also difficult not to thin# for a longer period of time as
human brains wor# all the time processing information, thus providing uswith
concepts formulated by means of language.
f. Communicating function
'his function would probably be pointed at by most language users
without ma?or consideration. Indeed itis in all li#elihood most commonly used
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language function by ma?ority of spea#ers. R e-uesting,apologizing, informing,
ordering as well as promising and refusing are all reasons for communicating
our ideas.
g. Pleasurefunctions
'he fact that language often gives pleasure both to the spea#ers and
listeners is not only supported by thefre-uent use of assonance( alliteration
and onomato)oeia in poetry. 7epending on the sounds of languages some are
perceived as being mild as $nglish for example, others crude as @erman. Aeople
alsoderive pleasure from unusual use of syntactic rules, as well as novelties of
meanings ?uxt apositions and language games, which is often used by s#ilful
writers.
*. !acro functions"
a. I'eational function
Ideational function refers to the conceptualizing process involved in our
mental activities. 'han#s tolanguage we are able to understand what happens
around us.
+ Inter)ersonal function
Interpersonal function emphasizes that language is mainly a social
phenomenon, but apart from enablingcommunication with other people it enables
to pro?ect the spea#er in the desired way and to represent thespea#er.
*+ Poetic function
"ere, the word poetic does not refer to the ability to write poetry, but the
ability to manipulate language ina creative way. )ith the use of ?o#es and
metaphors we can play with words and meanings simply for ?oy.
,+ Te-tual function
'extual competence refers to our ability to create long utterances or pieces
of writing which are bothcohesive and coherent. 6nli#e animals people, by use of
certain linguistic devices, are able to producelong sentences and text, and not only
simple phrases.
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'he above mentioned functions are only one point of view on language. =ost
certainly there are manyother functions that natural languages fulfill, yet depending on
approach to this issue the number of functions and their names might vary.
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D. Language function %$ . E-)ert"
. !.A./ Halli'a$ in Bro0n 1234" 2. 526+
a. Instrumental function (to serve the
environment
b. Cegulatory function (to control events
c. !unction representation (to ma#e statements,
convey facts and #nowledge, explain or report
d. Interactional function (to maintain continuity
of social communication
e. Aersonal function (to express feelings,
emotions, personal, profound reactions
f. .euristic function (for obtaining and
studying environmental science
g. Imaginative function (for systems serving
imagination or ideas
*. &oman 7a8o%son in C#ae'ar 1239"3*+
a. emotive speech
Asychological functioning speech (expressing feelings,
attitudes, emotions spea#ers.
b. (ognitive speech
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Speech refers to the real world is often termed denotative or
informative.
c. Cethorical speech
Speech function and mengondisi influence thoughts and behavior
of the responders said.
d. =etalingual speech
Speech serves to discuss language.
e. Aoetic speech
In the form of speech used by privileging its own aesthetic values.
,. :#atmoug# in &us$ana 123.". 5 .*+
a. Informative use of language (stating facts
b. 'he use of dynamic languages (compiled opinion
c. 'he use of emotive language (move others to action
d. 'he use of language in aesthetic (literary expression
.. Finocc#iaro in C#ae'ar 1239"3,+
a. Aersonal (for express emotions, needs, thoughts, desires, attitudes, and
feelings
b. Interpersonal (to strengthen social relationships
c. 7irective (to control others with advice, counsel, concerns, re-uests,
discussion
d. Ceferential (to tal# about ob?ects 9 events in the surrounding
environment or the culture in general
e. =etalinguistic (to discuss language
f. Imaginative (for privileging aesthetic values
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