LING/GLAK 151

NATURE OF LANGUAGE
DR. OBED NII BROOHM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SCIENCES
KNUST
obed.broohm@knust.edu.gh

LECTURE 2
FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE
 INTRODUCTION
• In Lecture 1 we discussed different theories about the origins of language.
• We may never know for sure where language came from.
• However, everybody would acknowledge the usefulness of language. But have
you ever consciously thought of the various uses or functions of language?
•We will look at five (5) different functions of language. These include
 Informative Function
 Persuasive Function
 Emotive Function
 The Phatic Function
 The Aesthetic Function
 THE INFORMATIVE FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
• The informative function of language may also be called the referential
function.
• This function of language allows us to use words to refer to or indicate facts or
things.
• It is the most obvious function of language. With the informative function,
focus is on providing information; language is used to communicate.
• When we use language to refer to facts or things, we are using the informative
or referential function.
 THE INFORMATIVE FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
•Different types of sentences may be used such as statements, questions,
commands, etc. but as long as the focus is on giving information, the
informative function of language is at work.
•The following are examples of the informative use of language: sentences 1
and 2 are statements, 3 is a command and 4 is a question.
1. Ghana became independent from Great Britain on 6 March 1957.
2. The Inuit who live in northern Canada, Greenland and Alaska build houses called igloos
from blocks of snow.
3. Read sections four and five for the test on Friday.
4. Where is the IDL Office located?
 THE PERSUASIVE FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
• The persuasive function of language focuses on influencing people to do
something.
• Different sorts of methods may be used to achieve this purpose.
• For instance, you may encourage, frighten or even shame someone into doing
something.
• Most advertisements often use suggestions, subtle reasons to get people to buy a
product or service or do something.
• Politicians often use persuasive language to get their ideas across.
• The main function of language during political electioneering is persuasive because
candidates seek to dissuade the people from following the policies of their opponents
but rather to accept their own policies and vote for them.
 THE PERSUASIVE FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
• The following are examples of the persuasive use of language:
1. IDEAL College: How can you fail?
2. THIS WAY CHOCOLATE DRINK: nea wo hiaaa ne nsuohyew!!!
3. 4 More for NANA to do more!.
4. Buy one get one free!
 THE EMOTIVE FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
• The emotive function of language concentrates on expressing one’s feelings.
• The emotive function is at work when you speak not because you want to
provide information or persuade anyone but simply to express your feelings.
• With the emotive function, you communicate more for yourself than for the people who
may or may not hear what you say.
•Consider the following situation:
• Mr. Zee is alone in his garden. He carefully puts down his gourd of water and it falls over.
He picks it up and carefully sets it down and it falls over again. Mr. Zee then vehemently
curses the gourd. Here Mr. Zee cannot be said to be communicating anything to anyone since
he is alone; neither can he be said to be persuading anyone. He simply expresses his feelings
of frustration.
• If you are walking barefoot on the beach and step on something that sharply pricks your foot you may cry out
Ouch! That is also an example of the emotive use of language. Swear words and words used to express
obscenities particularly when one is in a frustrated or angry state are among the most common signals of this
type of language use.
 THE PHATIC FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
• The phatic function of language consists in saying something just to have
contact with the person you are speaking to.
• The phatic function of language is used to express togetherness and solidarity
with others. Consider the following exchange:
A. Hello there!
B. Hello! Nice day isn’t it?
A. Yes. How are you?
B. Not so bad, and you?
A. Oh, quite fine, thank you
• In the above exchange between A and B, the main issue is not self-expression,
nor are they giving information or persuading anyone.
• The exchange serves as a polite social formula to express togetherness and
communion with each other.
 THE PHATIC FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE

• When you answer hello on the telephone or discuss the weather with your
barber or hairdresser, it is the phatic function of language that you are using.
• Welcome and farewell greetings fall under the phatic function of language.
• Apologies and proposals.
 THE AESTHETIC FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE
• The aesthetic function of language refers to the use of language as an art form
to create beauty.
• Here the focus is on the message itself for its own sake.
• For instance, in poetry the ordinary words in language may be arranged in new ways so
as to give pleasure, to entertain, or to sound pleasant to the ears.
• A rhyme such as: She says she sells sea shells on the sea shore is an example
of the aesthetic use of language.
 SUMMARY
• We have discussed various functions of language.
• The informative function is concerned with providing information, the persuasive
function involves influencing people to do one thing or the other while the emotive
function basically centres around expressing one’s feelings.
• Note, however, that more than one function may be present in any one piece of
writing or utterance even when one function is more prominent than the others.
• For instance, a political campaign speech or an advertisement each of which is mainly
persuasive may also be informative. A political campaign speech, for example, seeks to
persuade people to vote for a particular party or individual, yet it might also include important
information about the country and the policies the party intends to follow.
• The phatic function involves the relationship-building use of language. Thus, it
consists in using language to express togetherness or solidarity with others.
• The aesthetic function of language relates to the use of language as an art form to
create beauty. When language is used for this purpose, the focus is on the language
itself for its own sake.