The Function of Oral MY JOURNAL

Language
A Theory of Michael Halliday

Mba Ing’s
A. The Function of Oral Language
Like writing, speaking also has a variety of genres that are related to the purpose of the talk. The purpose of
language is to communicate needs, wants, ideas, information and feelings. The purposes or functions of language
have been categorized in a variety ways as Halliday’s theory of function of oral language.
It is important when tackling the functions of language to give consideration to:
• the range of different social contexts of language:
– informal or formal
– familiar or unfamiliar.
• the range of cultural contexts for language:
– local
– community
– institutional.
• the possible participants in a conversation:
– people who are known or unknown
– students
– peers
– adults.