The function of language

The function of language

In language, function goes hand in hand with structure, for the structure of each sentence specifies the uses to wich it can be put. Napoleon was exiled to Elba, for example has the sturcture of a declarative sentence with Napoleon as subject and was exiled to elba as pradicate. Because if its structure it can be used to tell someone that Napoleon was exiled to elba. It cannot be used to tell someone that Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals, to thank the president for a pleasant evening, or to ask the waiter to bring another cup of coffiee. Like the bicycle, this sentence has a strukture specially engineered for a particular funcation, that of telling someone that Napoleon was exiled to Elba. For this reason, function is as important to the study of language as structure. The fundamental function of language is communication. in this activity there are three main elements:

1.  a speaker
2. a listener
3. a signaling system (for example, the english language)

Furthermore, the signaling system must be one that speakers and listeners are both able to use. Communication begins with speakers. They decide, for example, to import some information in a particular way. They then select a signal-a particular English sentence-that they believe is appropriate and utter it. The listeners receive the signal-the uttered sentence-and take it in for immediate use or for stronge in memory. with that, one stage of communication is complete. As this description shows, the function of language is intimately bound up with the speakers' and listeners' mental activities during communication, in particular with the speakers' intentions, the ideas speakers want to convey, and the listeners' and must get them to recognize these intentions . The sentences used must reflect these conceptions as well,. These three aspects of language function have been studied under the labels of speech acts, propositional contet, and thematic structure.

Speech acts

Each sentence, taken as a whole, is designed to serve a specific function. It may be mant to inform listeners, warn them, order them to do something, question them about a fact, or thank them for a gift or act of kindness. The function it serves is critical to communication. Speakers expect listeners to recognize the functions of the sentences they speak and to act accordingly. Whenever they ask a question, for example they expect their listeners to realize that it is a request for information. If the listener fail to appreciate this intention, they are judged as having "misunderstood" even though they may have take in everything else about the utterance. But just how is this function of sentences to be charaterized? And how does each sentences convey its particular fuction?

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