Content Words and Function Words in "Zombie Lunchlady" Story

Nayla Azizah (20) & Ghoniyatul Fadlluh Arfaqo (38)

I. Introduction
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language, examining its various
components, including form, structure, and context. It also explores the relationship
between sound and meaning, as well as how language differs among individuals and
situations. Linguists, experts in the field, focus on specific languages but aim to
understand the fundamental nature of language by asking questions such as what
distinguishes human language from other animal communication systems. Linguistics
encompasses various subfields, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax,
and semantics, which can be further categorized into descriptive, historical, comparative,
theoretical, and geographical linguistics. The study of the English language is an example
of linguistics in action.
Linguistics is a field of study that explores the fundamental nature of language and
communication. It encompasses both the analysis of specific languages and the
identification of universal properties shared among languages or large language groups.
The discipline is divided into several subfields, including phonetics (the study of speech
sounds and their production, acoustics, and perception), phonology (the patterning of
sounds), morphology (the structure of words), syntax (the structure of sentences),
semantics (meaning), and pragmatics (language in context). Additionally, linguistics
investigates language variation (dialects), language change over time, how language is
processed and stored in the brain, and how it is acquired by young children. The
University of Arizona's Department of Linguistics offers coursework that covers these
topics. In syntax, the focus extends beyond sentence structure to include the ordering of
words in clauses and phrases. There are two primary categories for classifying words:
content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and function words (auxiliary verbs,
determiners, prepositions, qualifiers, interrogators, negators, subordinators, coordinators,
and other minor groups). Content word and function word has a several differences can
be enumerated:
 Meaning: Content words have clear lexical meanings, which are meanings of words
as found in a dictionary. Whereas function words do not always have clear lexical
meanings.
  Frequency: Content words are less frequently used, whereas function words are used
more frequently.
 Numbers: Content words are abundant in quantity, making it difficult to quantify or
visualize the number of nouns and verbs. On the other hand, function words can be
easily counted. For instance, auxiliary verbs are limited to around 20 or 30 words.
 The ways of identifying them: Content words identifiable by their formal markers,
whereas function words do not have formal markers.
 Openness: Content words are what we call open classes, while function words are
called closed classes.
II. Finding and Discussion
2.1 Finding
Paragraphs are composed of several sentences, each with its own structure and
arrangement. Sentences can be categorized into two classes: content words and
function words. Content words convey the principal meaning and include nouns,
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Function words carry grammatical significance and
help express connections between words, lacking substantial meaning in isolation. In
analyzing a text, we examine each word's class. This analysis will focus on the short
story "Zombie Lunchlady."
Story: "Zombie Lunchlady"
“Doris stood there, hand on hip, trying to figure out what to say. She’d already
used up most of her standby phrases; things like, 'Don’t forget, employees must wash
their hands,' and 'A smile will go a long way.' What worked for all the other ladies had
not worked for this newest employee. 'Wash your hands' had led to the new hire
carefully removing one hand, rinsing it, reattaching it somewhat sloppily, then
attempting to repeat the process with the other one. Encouraging her to smile had sent
the entire first grade screaming and running away from the queue. Today, Doris had
come to school ready for whatever came to mind. She’d thought to ask her fellow
long-timers what they suggested. Looking hopelessly around the group, however, she
realized they would not have any suggestions for the new girl. Rather, she had rubbed
off on them already. They stood in a similar posture to hers, listlessly lolling their
heads about and groaning. Doris cleared her throat anyway. Alerted, they all began
shambling closer."
Source (https://chelowens.com/category/three-paragraph-story/)
 Content Words
a. Nouns: Doris, hand, hip, phrases, employees, hands, smile, ladies, hire, queue,
school, mind, long-timers, group, posture, heads, throat
b. Verbs: stood, figure, say, used, forget, wash, go, worked, removing, rinsing,
reattaching, attempting, repeat, encouraging, sent, screaming, running, come,
thought, ask, suggested, realized, rubbed, stood, lolling, groaning, cleared, began,
shambling
c. Adjectives: new, standby, sloppily, entire, first, ready, hopeless, similar, listless
d. Adverbs: somewhat, carefully, away, already, however
Function Words
a. Pronouns: she, her, they, it, their, this, what, one
b. Articles: the, a
c. Prepositions: on, to, for, with, from, around, about, of
d. Conjunctions: and, but, however, then
e. Auxiliary Verbs: had, have, would, been, will

2.2 Discussion
The analysis of "Zombie Lunchlady" illustrates the distinction between content and
function words and their roles within the text.
a. Role of Content Words:
Content words are essential for conveying the primary meaning and
providing the core details of the narrative. For instance, nouns like "Doris,"
"hand," and "school" establish the characters and setting. Verbs like "stood,"
"figure," and "say" describe actions and events, moving the story forward.
Adjectives and adverbs add depth and detail, enhancing the readers'
understanding and visualization of the scenes.
b. Role of Function Words:
Function words serve to connect content words, ensuring grammatical
correctness and coherence. Articles like "the" and "a" help specify nouns, while
prepositions such as "on," "to," and "with" establish relationships between
different elements. Conjunctions like "and" and "but" link ideas and clauses,
facilitating the flow of the narrative. Auxiliary verbs support the tense and aspect
of the main verbs, while pronouns and determiners help avoid redundancy and
maintain clarity.
 c. Interaction between Content and Function Words:
The balance between content and function words is crucial for creating
meaningful and structured sentences. Content words deliver the essential
information and imagery, while function words stitch these elements together into
cohesive and comprehensible sentences. For example, the sentence "Doris stood
there, hand on hip, trying to figure out what to say" uses content words ("Doris,"
"stood," "hand," "hip," "trying," "figure," "say") to convey action and detail, with
function words ("there," "on," "to," "what") ensuring the sentence's grammatical
integrity.
In conclusion, content words in the "Zombie Lunchlady" story provide the key
information and vivid imagery, while function words create the grammatical structure
needed to present this information cohesively. This interplay is fundamental to
effective storytelling, allowing readers to fully engage with and understand the
narrative.
III. Conclusion
The analysis of the "Zombie Lunchlady" story highlights the distinction between
content words and function words and their roles in conveying meaning and structure
within the text. Content words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, provide
the core details and primary meaning of the narrative, while function words, such as
pronouns, articles, prepositions, conjunctions, and auxiliary verbs, connect these content
words to ensure grammatical correctness and coherence.
The balance between content and function words is crucial for creating meaningful
and structured sentences. Content words deliver the essential information and imagery,
while function words stitch these elements together into cohesive and comprehensible
sentences. This interplay is fundamental to effective storytelling, allowing readers to fully
engage with and understand the narrative.
In the "Zombie Lunchlady" story, content words like "Doris," "hand," and "school"
establish the characters and setting, while verbs like "stood," "figure," and "say" describe
actions and events. Adjectives and adverbs add depth and detail, enhancing the readers'
understanding and visualization of the scenes. Function words like "the," "a," "on," "to,"
and "with" help specify nouns, establish relationships between elements, and link ideas
and clauses, facilitating the flow of the narrative.
 Overall, the interplay between content and function words in the "Zombie
Lunchlady" story demonstrates how these two types of words work together to create a
coherent and engaging narrative.
IV. Reference
McGregor, W. B. (2024). Linguistics: an introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Wulansari, Atsani. Gilang Fadhilia., and Retma Sari. 2023. Introduction to Educational
Linguistics.