Week 1 - Functions of Language

Question 1

What are the 2 Functions of Language (BROAD CLASSES)

Answer 1

1. SOCIAL (interpersonal) Functions
   > Communicative
   > Emblematic
2. INDIVIDUAL-centred Functions
   > Cognitive
   > Emotive

Question 2

What is communicating?

Answer 2

“communicating” is like “giving”

• Involved TRANSFER of some object from One Individual (THE SOURCE) to another (DESTINATION of communication)

(common logic eg)
SOURCE-> DESTINATION-> TRANSFERRED OBJECT

gestures, touch, movement, automatic responses, BUT
NATURAL LANG = most versatile means

Question 3

Communicative functions

Answer 3

1. messages
2. greetings
   2b. leavetakings

Question 4

comm function: MESSAGES

Answer 4

1 - REFERENTIAL:
info about world. messages abt world (real or imagined) = representative function. REP NARRATIVE about it
eg. “our home is girt by sea”

2 - DIRECTIVE:
Related to things that happen in world BUT purpose /not/ narrative - MANIPULATIVE.
eg. “Please open the window”
“Where are we going?”

Question 5

Comm Function:
GREETINGS
+ LEAVETAKINGS

Answer 5

Hi, how are you
Fine, How are you?
Fine

NOT usually GENUINE requests of participants health/mind, - RITUALS for SOCIAL FUNCTION

ritualised: most euro languages usually involve HOW greeting
> cómo está usted
> how are u
Aus indigenous lang usually WHERE geeting

well I wont keep you. see you later.
Bye, see you later
bye
THEN they part (ritual leaving signal)

Question 6

EMBLEMATIC Functions

Answer 6

Role of language as a MARKER of GROUP IDENTITY

Professions, clubs, gangs, groups of friends = own jargon, slang, favourite ways of speaking. not real member of group if can’t “talk the talk”.

NATIONAL LANGUAGES
>austro-hungarian empire end WWI broke (largely) along linguistic lines
> minority lang freq. persecuted 4 national unity
> Ling-based separatist movements arise in multiling nations (HINDI + URDU) (SERBIAN + CROATIAN) = minor diffs exaggerated

Question 7

COGNITIVE functions

Answer 7

• self-talk (mostly silent, internal monologue.)
  > USE: plan future, reflect past + current

IS LANG ESSENTIAL TO THOUGHT?
- imagic thoughts NOT linguistic
- procedural knowledge (how perform tasK) NOT linguistic
but;

PROPOSITIONAL THOUGHT: thought and memory about individuals, their properties, relations between, events/states which involved

(onna is my dog, onna is cute, - not necessarily in form of english sentences - but can be mapped into eng sentences)

Question 8

EMOTIVE functions

Answer 8

Lang used as reflection of speaker’s emotional state.

“YES!!” of satisfaction, “FUCK” of frustration/pain

in purely emotive use, NOT serve to COMMUNICATE (freq. uttered alone)
- REINFORCE/PUNCTUATE speaker’s feelings at moment

Question 9

abracadabra

Answer 9

mystical function chants spells (gay)