Patronage of Mary Development School

Poblacion, Boljoon, Cebu

Tel. Nos. (032)482-9302/(032)410-2466 - Website: www.pmds.ph - Email Address: pmdsmamamary@gmail.com

ORAL COMMUNICATION
LESSON 5
The Functions of Communication
Objectives:
1. Deepen understanding on the functions of communication;
2. Identify the common functions of language;
3. Explain the interplay of emotion and communication; and
4. Discuss the language forms for special interaction.

COMMUNICATION FUNCTION
Communication as a human activity always serves a
function. Function of communication refers to how humans use
language for different purposes. Theoreticians such as Roman
Jakobson, Michael Halliday, and Bronislaw Malinowski have
categorized the different uses of functions of communication.
Below are five common functions of language- regulation/control,
social interaction, motivation, information, and emotional
expression.

Regulation/Control
Communication can be used to control the behaviour of human being. It can be used
to regulate the nature and amount of activities humans engage in. Example of
regulation/control includes doctor’s prescription, parent’s instructions to their children, their
employees, customer making orders, and many others.

LANGUAGE FORMS FOR REGULATION OR CONTROL

Communication as a means of regulation or control can come in the
form of commands (grammatically known as imperatives) such as the
following:

Please come in.

Get a chair.
Run.
Another form in which communication can take as a form of control would be questions that
influence human behavior. They are called rhetorical questions because they are not
intended to get information. Examples include the following:
Why don’t we go to the dining room now?
Do you have a pen?
Can you pass the salt?

Statements (grammatically known as declaratives) may also be the form in which

communication becomes a means of regulation or control. The idea is that when the person
says something, he or she wants the listener to do something. The following are examples:
I want to be alone.
You need to hurry.
That’s not the right thing to do.

Humans need to have sense of control over their lives and the world around them.
That is why we use communication of regulation/control. Communication as a means to
regulate/control human behavior ranges from simple requests to laws governing large
countries and territories. It is a powerful function of language.

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Social Interaction
Communication can be used to produce social
interaction. In their daily courser of living, human beings
develop and maintain bonds, intimacy, relations, and
associations.

Human do this primarily through communication.

Examples of communication as social interaction include
pick-up lines, invitations, greetings, appreciation,
encouragement, marriage, proposals, game plans, and
many others.
LANGUAGE FORMS FOR SOCIAL INTERACTION
Below are several examples of expressions that reduce social interaction
Let’s be friend.
Will you marry me?
Be my group partner.
I like you.
I love you.
You mean so much to me.
Hello.

It is interesting to note, however, that by simply interacting through communication,

humans already form relationships even without direct invitations to do so.

The mere act of spending time with a person and talking about oneself already
produces closeness. This is why a young man trying to develop romantic relationship with a
woman spends a lot of time with her. The same can be said of working together and
communicating while doing so. It is also evident when parents spend time with their
children or when friends hang out with each other. Social interaction as a function of
communication comes about in any human activity involving communication. As Bronislaw
Malinowski says, “Ties of union are created by a mere exchange of words.”

Social interaction is probably the most natural results of communication. This is

because, by its very definition, communication is always social and always involves
interaction.

Motivation
Motivation as a function of communication refers to a person using language to
express desires, needs, wants, likes and dislikes, inclination, choices, and aspirations.
Examples of communication used as motivation include expressing one’s ambitions. Talking
about preferences, ordering in fast food restaurant, asking for milk, making petitions,
picketing, expressing a need, communicating desires and aspirations, and many more.

Motivation as function of communication can be grammatically realized usually as

declaratives but sometimes as commands (grammatically known as imperative) and
rhetorical questions (questions not intended for merely eliciting information).

LANGUAGE FORMS FOR EXPRESSING MOTIVATION

Forms expressing motivation include the following:
I need…
I want…
Give me…
I dream of…
We pray for…
Do you have…?
Can i…?

Motivation as a function is one of the most basic functions of human communication.

Humans have been using communication to obtain their need even as little babies. A baby

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communicates by crying in order to have his or her needs met-milk, comfort, and others. A
person who could not use most means of communication to obtain what he or she wants
experiences powerlessness and a feeling of being trapped. Being able to communicate what
our preferences, desires, need, and sentiments is closely connected to how a person
identifies himself or herself in relation to fellow human beings.

Not surprisingly, motivation can also serve to strengthen social interactions. As

individual express their preference, goals, and aspiration, they bond more closely with
persons who share similar preferences, goals, and aspirations. This greater social interaction
in turn strengthens their adherence to such preference. This makes motivation as a function
of communication very central to human identity.

Information
Communication can be used for giving and getting information. Giving information
usually comes in the form of statements of facts (grammatically known as declaratives) and
sometimes in terms of rhetorical questions. Getting information can come in the form of
questions intended for getting information (grammatically known as interrogative),
commands (grammatically known as imperatives) and even through statements.

LANGUAGE FORMS FOR SHARING/OBTAINING INFORMATION

The following shows some forms in which giving and getting information take.
Giving information

…using statements
I have three brothers.
Cebu was established as a settlement in 1595.
For every action, there is reaction.

…using a rhetorical question

Did you that some earphones can be used as microphones?

…Getting information…
…using questions
Where is Mount Halcon?
Did it rain last night?
Is it windy outside?

…using imperatives
Tell me how much a can of corned beef cost.
Show me how to tie a knot.
Give me information regarding the weather.

…using declaratives
I don’t know where to find the city hall.
I need to understand how my bill was computed.

Communication as information enabled humans to get to know the world. It enables

them to process and structure what they learn about it.

Emotional Expression
Humans always need to express their emotions both verbally and nonverbally.
Emotions are the central parts of who we are. Beyond thinking about the things and people
in our world, we feel about them and about ourselves. Whether it is love, fear, anger, joy,
hope, or any other emotions, humans need to let them out otherwise they harm our well-
being.

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LANGUAGE FORMS FOR EXPRESSING EMOTION
The following are examples of forms for expressing opinion:
I think…
I believe that…
In my opinion,
Let me say that…
The way I see it,

Aside from being expressed through language and verbal communication, emotional
expression is the function of communication most commonly expressed non-verbally.
Not usually, emotional expression can be done through gestures, facial expressions, and
other simple or energetic body movements.

The Special Case of Expressing Opinions

How about expressing an opinion? What function does it perform? The function to
which expressing an opinion belongs depends on the purpose and setting in which it is done.
For example, when a doctor or lawyer gives an opinion, it is likely to be about information.
A teenage girl giving an opinion about on whom among the currently popular male
celebrities is the most handsome, that is likely to be about motivation. Lastly, when a
teenage guy expresses an opinion about what his life would be now that his girlfriend broke
up with him that is likely to be in the realm of emotional expression.

Expressing an opinion has broad functions covering every category of communication

functions.

As long as humans communicate, there will always be a particular use or function to

our communication efforts.

References

Longinos, Rouel A. (2014). Power Talk. A Teaching-Learning Tool for Conversational English
and Creative Expression Skill Development. Cebu City, Philippines

Longinos, Rouel A. (2016). Oral Communication Plus. A Teaching-Learning Tool for Public
Speaking. Cebu City, Philippines

Peña, Andrew Rey S. and Ali G. Anudin (2016). Oral Communication. Quezon City: Vibal
Group Inc.