First Use of the Term ‘Discourse’

Discourse, according to Harris (1951), who first used the term, is a sequence of the
utterances. He observes that:

Stretches longer than one utterance are not usually considered in current descriptive
linguistics. […] the linguist usually considers the interrelations of elements only within one
utterance at a time. This yields a possible description of the material, since the interrelations
of elements within each utterance (or utterance type) are worked out, and any longer
discourse is describable as succession of utterances, i.e. a succession of elements having the
stated interrelations.

Discourse analysis comprises a wide range of sub-disciplines, such as pragmatics,

conversational analysis, speech act theory and ethnography of speaking. The discipline
studies language used in the context, so its subject matter is language as a whole, either
written or spoken, in terms of transcriptions, larger texts, audio or video recordings, which
provides an opportunity to the analyst to work with language rather than a single sentence.

The Functions of Language in Discourse with Examples

Here we present all the functions of language as various scholars have proposed. We draw
examples from Ola Rotimi’s historical tragedy: Ovonramwen Nogbaisi, for Roman
Jakobson’s classification of language functions.

Language Functions

As proposed by different scholars, there are different classifications of the functions of

language. Stubbs (1995:46) proposes the following functions of language:
expressive/emotive, directive/conative/persuasive, poetic, contact, metalinguistic, referential,
contextual/situational. Brown and Yule (1983) identify two functions of language. These are:
Transactional and Interactional. Transactional function has to do with the expression of
content while Interactional function deals with the expression of social relations and personal
attitudes.

M. A. K. Halliday’s Classification of Language Functions

Ogunsiji (2001:77) opines that “human language is essentially functional in that language is
used for various purposes in the society.” Adeyanju (2008:86-87) making reference to
Halliday (1970) submits that the latter identifies three broad functional levels of language.
These are the Ideational, Interpersonal and Textual functions. We shall examine each of these
functional levels of language.

Ideational Function

According to Adeyanju (2008:86), citing Halliday (1970) the ideational function “implies that
language serves as an instrument for the encoder (speaker, writer) to express and articulate

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his idea and experience internally.” Ideational function refers to the conceptualizing process
involved in our mental activities. Through language, we are able to understand what happens
around us. This is also known as the experiential function which deals with words and their
relationship to the world. 

Interpersonal Function

This function, as described by Ogunsiji (2001:77) is used in establishing and sustaining social
relations. Interpersonal function emphasizes that language is mainly a social phenomenon,
but apart from enabling communication with other people it enables to project the speaker in
the desired way and to represent the speaker. It is also an instrument of achieving social
cohesion.

Textual Function

Adeyanju (2008:87) described this function as implying “the availability of an internal

structure which makes it possible for the writer or speaker to construct texts that are not only
coherent but also situationally appropriate.” Textual competence refers to our ability to create
long utterances or pieces of writing which are both cohesive and coherent. Unlike animals
people, by use of certain linguistic devices, are able to produce long sentences and text, and
not only simple phrases. A good example is from the opening lines of Charles Dickens’s A
Tale of Two Cities:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of
Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven,
we were all going direct the other way−−in short, the period was so far like the present
period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil,
in the superlative degree of comparison only.

Language Functions for Children in Early Years

Halliday (1973) as cited by Christodoulou (2009) identifies seven functions that language has
for children in their early years. Children get motivated to acquire language because it serves
certain purposes or functions for them. The first four functions help the child to satisfy
physical, emotional and social needs. They are: instrumental, regulatory, interactional, and
personal functions. The other three functions are heuristic, imaginative, and representational,
and these ones help the child to come to terms with his or her environment. Let us examine
them severally:

Instrumental Function

 We use this function of language to fulfil a need on the part of the speaker. In language
acquisition process, a child uses this function to express his/her needs. This function is
directly concerned with obtaining food, drink and comfort.

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Regulatory Function

Language used to influence the behaviour of others. It deals with persuading, commanding,
requesting other people to do things one wants. In other words it is used to tell others what to
do.

Interactional Function

 Language is used to develop social relationships and ease the process of interaction. It is
concerned with the phatic dimension of talk. Through this function, language is used to make
contact with others and to form relationships.

Personal Function

In personal function, we use language to express the personal preferences and identity of the
speaker. Language is used to express feelings, opinions and individual identity. It is
sometimes referred to as the ‘Here I am!’ function – announcing oneself to the world.

Representational Function

Language is used to exchange information. It deals with relaying, conveying facts or

requesting information.

Heuristic Function    

Here, we use language to gain knowledge, learn and explore the environment. A child uses
language to learn. This may be in the form of questions and answers, or the kind of running
commentary that frequently accompanies children’s play.

Imaginative Function

In this case, we use language to explore the imagination. It also accompanies play as children
create imaginary worlds. We employ this language function in storytelling and sharing jokes.

Roman Jakobson’s Functions of Language

We have examined other language functions as proposed by other scholars, Let us now focus
on the ones Jakobson (1960) highlights. Most of these functions correlate with those of other
scholars or are subsumed under them. He identifies the following communicative functions of
language:

The Emotive Function

This function emphasises the addresser’s own attitudes towards the content of the message;
that is, it looks at the emotion of the speaker towards the message content. Danesi (2004:106)
describes this function thus: “The intent of the addresser in constructing a message is emotive
in the sense that, no matter how literal the message might be, its mode of delivery invariably

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involves the latent presence of the addresser’s emotions, attitudes, social status, etc.” When a
speaker does not speak to convey an item of information, but to express their feelings, the
communication is more for the speaker more than for the people who may (or may not) hear
him/her.

Examples of Emotive Function

 Ovonramwen: [spoken weightily] Some birds. . . some birds dread water; ducks sleep in
it! The same it is with men. Some men dread trouble. Others court trouble. p. 4
 Ovonramwen: Brothers, ha! Rebels – all: Obazelu, Obaraye, Eribo, Osia – the whole
rout: rebels! p. 4
 Ovonramwen: Because the moon is dim, the eyes of little stars cast a carefree glitter.
Obaduagbon, Esasoyen, and the rest of you . . . your stars have this day consumed
themselves in the heat of their own unwisdom. This night, you all die. [To the prison
warder.] I have spoken. p. 6
 Obaruduagbon: Today is your day: tomorrow belongs to another! p. 6
 Esasoyen: Indeed: the Whiteman who is stronger than you will soon come! p. 6
 Iyase: Ikpema! Oba gha to o kpere! p. 6
 Ovonramwen: “Let the land know this: Ovonramwen Nogbaisi is henceforth set to rule as
king after the manner of his fathers before him. Some men there are who think that, by
honour of years, or the power of position, or by too much love for trouble, they can dull
the fullness of my glow and bring darkness on the empire! But they forget. . . They forget
that no matter how long and stout the human neck, on top of it must always sit a head.
Henceforth, a full moon’s, my glow – dominant, and unopen to rivalry throughout the
empire. [Gravely] Let everyone now go back to his home and ponder on my words! p. 7

The Conative Function

This function has to do with the addressee. We can find a typical example of this in the
‘vocative’. The vocative deals with the grammatical case of somebody being addressed, that
is, a grammatical case that indicates that the speaker directly addresses somebody or
something. The message invariably has an effect on its receiver, known as “conative,” no
matter what the message contents might be, because the way the addresser delivers it
involves such subjective features as tone of voice, individual selection of words, and so on.
Conative comes to play when one tries to make other people do something. This includes
orders and prayers. Conative finds its purest grammatical expression in the vocative
and imperative.

Examples of Conative Function

 Iyase: May the Home-Leopard live long! p. 4

 Other Chiefs: Pray Your Highness, forgive their rudeness. p. 5
 Ovonramwen: Tell Edogun to take them [the Whitemen] round the city. I shall talk to
them later. [To another messenger] You bring in the traders from Ijekiri. p. 8
 Ijekiri Traders: We are still begging Your Highness to deal lightly with our people. p. 8
 Ovonramwen: Go back to your chiefs – Chief Dore, Chief Idudu and the rest of them –
tell them that it is the man with thorns in his foot who limps to meet the man with a pin for
help. p. 8

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 Ovonramwen: Go you then and tell him: it was not to watch rascals sport with the Benin
Empire, that Ovonramwen Nogbaisi became king over this sacred domain. [with quiet
emphasis] I want those cursed swords seized! p. 9
 Elders: May your reign be long, Your Greatness – And happy – And full of good rewards.
The gods protect you. p. 12
 Ovonramwen: …May the gods of our fathers grant you more wisdom to hold peace in
Ishan. p. 12
 Ovonramwen: Tell your Queen that Ovonramwen Nogbaisi says she must have another
man. p. 17
 Moor: Look in all the rooms! Mobilize fifty infantry men! p. 66
 Roupell: Search the bushes! p. 66
 Moor: I want Overami dead or alive! I want Overami here by four o’clock! [To Soldiers]
Round them up! p. 66
 Osodin: Ezomo, Ezomo – tell the story. p. 67

 The Referential Function

This has to do with context. The function here is dealing with something contextual, that is,
contextual meaning. It is “Representative”. Meaning here will not be clear without an explicit
understanding of the context of utterance. Referential function refers to any message that is
constructed to convey information. It is the most obvious function of language as it is the
case when words are used to indicate things or facts. Osisanwo (2003) enunciates this more:
“The language user, in this function, ensures that the meaning of a word or expression is the
physical object which the utterance stands for. It is denotative.”

Examples of Referential Function

 Ifa Priest: Your Highness. . .the death I see here is not the death of one man. Bodies of
men. . .fire. . .and blood – bodies floating. Fire, and ocean of blood – bodies floating in it!
p. 15
 Evbakhavbokun: Father, what shall we give him? It is not fight to send him away to Ife
without a gift. p. 16
 Messenger: Your Greatness, the Whitemen have come back and ask if they can see you
now. p. 16
 Gallwey: [Untying a parcel] Your Highness, our Queen asks us to extend her very best
wishes to you; and she sends Your Highness these token presents, wishing you and the
people of this noble empire peace and prosperity. [Proffers a framed portrait to
Ovonramwen] Here, Your Highness, the photograph of our Queen. p. 18
 Ovonramwen: You say that is your ruler? p. 18
 Gallwey: She is, Your Majesty. p. 18
 Ovonramwen: Hmm. The soft innocent face of a child who has just stopped crying. p. 18
 Hutton: She is a beautiful woman, Your Majesty. p. 18
 Ovonramwen: A full-bodied woman. Her husband must have plenty to fill the hands! p.
18
 Gallwey: The Queen has no husband, Your Majesty. p. 18
 Hutton: Her husband is dead, Your Majesty. p. 18
 Ovonramwen: Then, let her take another husband from among her own people. A woman
without a man is like rich farm-soil without the feel of roots. A beautiful woman without a
man is a crab – over-protected by shells: selfish. p. 18

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 The Phatic Function

This concerns the channel of communication or utterances that are employed to maintain
contact or communication between two speakers. Phatic communication relates to language
spoken in order to share feelings, create goodwill, or set a pleasant social mood and for all
social purposes rather than to give information or ask questions. In other words, it establishes,
acknowledges, or reinforces social relations; it is the communicative acts that fulfil an
exclusively social function, acts that serve to confirm ‘ties of union,’ such as the more or less
formal inquiry about one’s health, remarks about the weather, or comments about trivial
matters. Examples include:

 Elders: We thank your Greatness. p. 12

 Ifa Priest: Oba Alaiyeluwa, Home-Leopard of Benin race… [Prostrates himself
before Ovonramwen] I bring you greetings from my Owner, Alaiyeluwa Oni, Lord of Ife,
the home of Oduduwa. Greetings. p. 13
 Gallwey: We’ve come to say goodbye to his Majesty, and to thank him for everything he
has done for us since we came here. p. 17
 Hutton: We are indeed very grateful for your hospitality, Your Majesty. p. 17
 Ovonramwen: That is nothing. p. 17
 Phillips: All right, all right – thank you, we’ll see the Oba in two months’ time. p. 31

The Metalinguistic Function

This refers to any message that is designed to indicate the code used. For example, “The
word noun is a noun.” Jakobson’s analysis suggests that verbal discourse goes well beyond
the function of simple information transfer. It involves determining who says what to whom;
where and when it is said; and how and why it is said; that is, it is motivated and shaped by
the setting, the message contents, the participants, and the goals of each interlocutor.
Discourse makes an emotional claim on everyone in the social situation. When language is
used to speak about language, for example in a grammar or a dictionary, the metalingual
function has been employed. Jakobson notes:

Metalanguage is not only a necessary scientific tool utilised by logicians and linguists. It
comes into play in our everyday language. We practise metalanguage without realising the
metalingual character of our operations. Whenever the addresser and/or addressee need to
check up whether they use the same code, speech is focused on the code: it performs a
METALINGUAL (i.e. glossing) function.

He submits: “Any process of language learning, in particular child acquisition of the mother
tongue, makes wide use of such metalingual operations; and aphasia may often be defined as
a loss of ability for metalingual operations.”

Examples of Metalinguistic Function

 Ifa Priest: [Casts ‘opele’ beads] I-w-o-s-a! I-w-o-s-a! Hm! Who has ever seen blood in a
locust! p. 14
 Ovonramwen: What does it say? p. 14
 Ifa Priest: Er…Greetings, my lord, greetings… p. 14
 Ovonramwen: I insist you tell me! p. 14
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 Ifa Priest: Oba Alaiyeluwa, Lord of Benin. . .the shadows I see over your empire are
heavy. Too heavy. Heavy and. . .and dark. p. 15
 Uzazakpo: What does that mean? p. 15
 Ologbosere: I’m not rejecting the charge, Your Greatness – it is just that why . . . I do not
understand – p. 21
 Ovonramwen: I remember the message. p. 52
 Roupell: What was the message? p. 52
 Ovonramwen: I said I was ready to stop hiding, and to come to Benin and surrender to
you. p. 52
 Igbedion: Plenty, plenty bottles. And inside one box there is small-small guns, sah. Like
this . . . pp. 56-57
 Moor: Plenty? p. 57
 Igbedion: Plenty small, sah. p. 57
 Ovonramwen: Uzazakpo! pp. 68
 Uzazakpo: What is the matter? p. 68
 Ovonramwen: It is. . .nothing. A fearful dream, Uzazakpo. Have I been in shelter a long
while? p. 68
 Uzazakpo: I think so. p. 68
 Ovonramwen: What d’you mean – you think so? p. 68

Metalinguistic activity may be unconscious and this often produces neologisms.

The Poetic Function

When the speaker focuses on the message for its own sake, the poetic function is put to use.
This function encompasses more than poetry. For example, euphony (pleasantness of sounds
in speech and pronunciation) is an application of this function. This poetic function of
language can be used when one says “Alexander the Great“, instead of “the great Alexander”,
which essentially has the same meaning. Poetic function involves play with form like rhyme,
repetition, alliteration, assonance, juxtaposition of paronyms (word derived from the same
root as another word with phonetic similarity – “folly” and “fool”; “fish the fissure for
Fisher”), spoonerisms (our queer dean for our dear queen). It also involves play with
meaning: (You cannot feature in a future you cannot picture), unexpected juxtaposition of
words that are quite unlike each other, artful exploitation of synonyms, all forms of
ambiguity: (police were ordered to stop drinking at midnight), deliberate violations of
meaning: (She womans her husband always), puns: (a rootless individual will become route-
less and ultimately become ruthless), allusion, etc. Poetic function involves the ability to
manipulate language in a creative way. Examples from our text which is rich in the use
of proverbs, symbolism, parallelism, innuendoes etc. include:

 Obaruduagbon: If a provoked houseboy cannot match his wicked strength with strength,
he maims the master’s favourite goat! p. 5
 Ologbosere: Our brothers, a man does not test the depth of a river with both feet together.
p. 5

 More Examples of the Poetic Function  

 Ovonramwen: Indeed, if like soap you try to make men clean, like soap you will dwindle
in the act. p. 8 and you do not predict the temper of the chick still in the egg. p. 12

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 Ifa Priest: Ehnn. . .Excrement of the crocodile is white on the bank of the river. White,
white will your hair become on your throne. The gods say let nothing hurt you. Because
the earthworm tried to hurt you now it has no legs; and the crab that one time tried to bite
you has now lost its head. What about the snake that tried to kill you? Today it crawls in
the dust. pp. 13-14
 Okavbiogbe: Now, if the Whiteman still determines to enter Benin, well . . . restless feet,
they say, will one day walk into a snakes’ pit! p. 30
 Okavbiogbe: Keep quiet then – the monkey’s diarrhoea is no concern of the baboon! p.
31
 Ovonramwen: But because a fierce snake sleeps, does not mean it has lost the power to
kill if rudely vexed! Let the Whiteman rudely prod us further, in spite of caution, then he
will know that the way a cat walks is not the same way it catches a rat! p. 34
 Ovonramwen: How was I certain that you were not going to find some cause to treat me
like Jaja and Nana? If fire can consume the tortoise with the iron coat, why not the fowl
with the feathered gown? p. 60

Mechanism of Communication

Jakobson (1960) opines that language must be investigated in all the variety of its functions.
He noted that we could hardly find verbal messages that would fulfil only one function. The
theory behind these functions establishes that saying something to someone involves the
following mechanism:

 An Addresser sends a Message to an Addressee.

 The Message cannot be understood outside of a Context.
 The Addresser and the Addressee need to understand the Code that explains the
relationship between the Message and the Context.
 A physical Contact must be established between them to convey the Message.

According to Jakobson (1960), “each of these six features (Addresser-Message-Context-

Contact-Code-Addressee) determines a different function of language.” The table below
show the correspondence between these features and the functions of language according to
Jakobson (1960):

Language
FACTORS OF A SPEECH EVENT PURPOSE
functions

Emotive Conveying
ADDRESSER – a speaker addresses a Message
Function Emotions

Conative Conveying
ADDRESSEE – a hearer who may be absent or implicit
Function Commands

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CONTEXT – referent or subject matter of the discourse, what it Referential Conveying
refers to Function Information

Phatic Concerning
CONTACT – channel or connection between the two parties
Function Contact

Conveying
Metalinguisti
CODE – fully or partly known to addresser and addressee Code
c Function
Analysis

Conveying
Poetic
MESSAGE – focus on the message for its own sake Play,
Function
Pleasure

Source: Yaguello, M. (1998) Language through the Looking Glass: Exploring Language and
Linguistics.

Danesi’s Additional Functions of Language

Danesi (2004:107) adds two additional functions to Jakobson’s set of functions. They are: the
mystical function and the economising function. Let us take a look at them:

The Mystical Function

The Mystical Function or the latent perception of the words used in communication relates to
words as having primordial mystical power. He posits that this function is latent in all kinds
of rituals and religious practices such as the Catholic Mass which is spoken, sermons, prep
rallies, and other ceremonial gatherings which are anchored in speeches, either traditionally
worded or specifically composed for the occasion. He observes:

The use of language in ritual is not to create new meanings, but to reinforce traditional ones
and, thus, to ensure cultural cohesion. Societies are held together as a result of such verbal
rituals. People typically love to hear the same speeches, songs, stories at specific times during
the year (at Christmas, at Passover, etc.) in order to feel united with the other members of the
culture. They are passed on from generation to generation with little or no modification.

Brown (1992:13) notes: “the fact that when we create words we use our breath, and for these
people and these traditions breath is associated with the principle of life; breath is life itself.
And so if a word is born from this sacred principle of breath, this lends an added sacred
dimension to the spoken word.”

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Mystical Powers of Language

Danesi (2004:108) opines: “Belief in the mystical powers of language is not limited to tribal
cultures. It abounds even in modern technological cultures. “Speak of the devil,” we say in
common parlance, and “he will appear.” When someone sneezes, uttering “bless you” is
meant to ward off sickness.” Gill (1994:106) expresses this further:

By portraying experience in a particular way, words work their unconscious magic on

humans, making them see, for example, products as necessary for success or creating
distinctions between better or worse-be it body shape, hair style, or brand of blue jeans.
Words create belief in religions, governments, and art forms; they create allegiances to
football teams, politicians, movie stars, and certain brands of beer. Words are the windows of
our own souls and to the world beyond our fingertips. Their essential persuasive efficacy
works its magic on every person in every society.

Economizing Function

This claims that messages will be constructed and delivered in the most “economical” way
possible, that is, with the least possible effort. Actually, “economization” is characteristic of
all kinds of communication systems, not just language. It appears in various ways across
cultures. For example, the more frequently a word or expression is used the more likely it will
be replaced by a shorter equivalent. This is known as “Zipf’s Law” in the communication
sciences, here are a few well-known examples of how it manifests itself in English:

Ad – advertisement, Photo – photograph, NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Laser

– light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation

We can see the economizing function today in the use of so-called “instant message” (IM)
acronyms. Unlike e-mails, we send IMs in real time, like a phone call, but with text rather
than spoken words. To increase the speed at which we can input and receive messages, IM
has developed a series of common acronyms that are now part of computer language. Here
are a few of them:

b4 Before CM call me

f2f face-to-face wan2 want to

h2cus hope to see you soon Ruok Are you OK?

IDK I don’t know 2moro Tomorrow

j4f just for fun gr8 Great

LOL laughing out loud g2g gotta go

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 143 I love you ASAP As soon as possible

Correct me if I’m
9 Parent is watching CMIIW
wrong

OMG Oh my God 2m2h Too much to handle

ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing TBC To be continued

Conclusion

This post has examined language, discourse and the various functions of language in
discourse from the perspectives of Halliday and Jakobson. We conclude that without
language, human endeavours would be impossible as language helps in holding together the
fabric of the society especially in the aspect of human interaction and communication.
Language is basically a functional phenomenon. It is the fabric with which discourse is
woven and the discourse fabric that language weaves is contingent on the specific context
that requires the fabric and this ultimately determines the function of the discourse. In other
words, a strong relationship exists between language, which is the bedrock of discourse, and
discourse, which is language in use. We use language in a particular context and it performs
various functions in discourse as we have discussed in this post.

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