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Informative,
expressive, and directive forms of communication are the primary uses of
language.
Language Background
Written and spoken language is used for many different reasons. The
primary uses of language are informative, expressive, and directive in
nature. Language is used to reason, to express ideas, argue a point, provide
directions, and much more. Let's learn about the three main uses of language
and how they are represented in written and spoken language.
Five functions of language:
Actually, Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). Mentioned that language has five
functions. They are:
1. Informational
2. Expressive
3. Directive
4. Aesthetic
5. Phatic
I am going to discuss every function. “Informational function which
every one tends to assume is most important” Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). In fact,
this function concentrates on the message. It is used to give new information.
It depends on truth and value. Let us look at this example, the car is big, the
bus is crowded.
The informative use of language applies to written and spoken
language that can be determined as true or false. Informative language is often
seen in analytical reports, descriptions, arguments, and everyday speech. Most
informative uses of language are declarative statements. For example, a person
uses informative language when they are making a statement that provides
information or that adds emphasis onto known information.
A person who says, 'The sky is blue' is using language to inform others
about a known fact.
On the other hand, a person would be emphasizing information if they
said, 'Isn't it raining outside?' to a child who wants to play outside. This
informative use of language is rhetorical because the person knows that it is
raining, but is forming it as a question to remind the child that the weather
is keeping them indoors.
” language can have an expressive function: that is, it can be used to
express its originator’s feelings and attitudes – swear words and exclamations
are the most obvious instance of this”. Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). The speaker or
writer of this function tries to express his feelings. He or she reflexes his
or her impression. This function could give a clear image for the personality
of the speaker or writer. The best example of this kind is Poetry and
literature . In fact, this function evoke certain feelings and express
feelings. Examples of this kind are, I am very happy or I spent a wonderful
vacation. We can see from the previous examples that they reflex the feelings
of the speaker or the writer.
Language that is used to express a mood or feeling is considered an expressive
use of language. Expressive language can reveal a person's happiness, sadness,
anger, or other state of emotion.
Expressive language doesn't deliver information, but it is critical to
human communication because humans thrive on the fostered social connection
that language can create. Swearing, cheering, and sounds that represent
emotions are examples of expressive language. Here are a few examples of
expressive language:
- Wow!
- The blue bedroom is depressing.
- Movies are boring.
“The third function of language is the directive function whereby we aim
to influence the behavior or attitudes of others. The most straightforward
instances of the directive function are commands and requests. This function of
social control places emphasis on the receiver’s end, rather than the
originator’s end of the message: but it resembles the expressive function in
giving less importance, on the whole, to conceptual meaning than to other types
of meaning, particularly affective and connotative meaning” Geoffery Leech(
1974 ).
Examples of this kind are, I want a cup of tea or close the door. It is
clear hear that, we use the language in a direct way. We ask someone to do
something. Some times we can use a sentence to express two functions. For
example, I am thirsty. The previous example could be used to show the condition
of the speaker or writer or to express the feeling. In a way that a person asks
someone to give him water.
The fourth function is the aesthetic function, which is ” the use of
language for the sake of the linguistic artifact itself, and for no purpose.
This aesthetic function can have at least as much to do with conceptual as with
affective meaning” Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). ” The function associated with the
message-the vehicle-is the poetic or aesthetic function: the sign taken as an
end in itself. All art understood as art is taken to embody this function, and
any object valued for its beauty rather than for its ideological value or
usefulness-whether a gorgeous car, an elegant teapot, or some acreage of
untouched real estate-takes on this function. Although Jakobson, perhaps more
precisely than anyone who preceded him, showed how the aesthetic function could
hinge on structure, he argues that cultural norms ultimately determine the
dominance of this function. As a striking demonstration, he notes that the
aesthetic status that one generation accorded only to the poems of Karel
Mácha, a subsequent generation accords only to his diaries. Jakobson, R.
(1933)”.
According to Leech, the fifth function is the phatic function. ” the
function of keeping communication lines open, and keeping social relationships
in good repair ( in Britain culture, talking about the weather is a well-known
example of this)”. Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). We can say about this function that
it is used for normal talks. An example of this, when two people meet each
other accidently in a place. They start talking about something unimportant for
the sake of communication like, how are you? How is your children? And so on.
We can say that it is a kind of daily talking. It is not meaning but is good.
