what are the Functions of Human language?

[abbassapro]

According to Halliday human language has three functions:

1. Communication: language is here to allow people to communicate. We use language to express our thoughts.

2. The Ideational function: it allows human to give and represent the word around then in good manner.

3. The interpersonal function: it allows people to communicate wand establish social relations. And these are some of its sub-functional.
4. The informative function: to share information and knowledge
5.Directive function:
The expressive/emotive function:
The phatic function

6. Textual function:

7. Language as an instrument of social control.

 

[DarrenTomlyn]

Language exists for one reason - and only one reason, alone - and therefore everything about language needs to be recognised and understood within this context:

To enable and allow for greater consistency in communication.

Without this purpose there is, nor can ever truly be, any meaningful and useful difference and distinction between language and communication itself, nor any full, true and consistent understanding of how and why language truly functions and therefore exists.

(The main side-effect of such a purpose, is that it also then allows for more abstract and complex pieces of information to be communicated aswell - (especially information (of anything suitable and relevant) that could not truly exist otherwise.))

 

[Raymott]

According to Halliday human language has three functions:

Who's Halliday, and why does he say that language has three functions, and then list them as seven (or nine) functions?

 

[BobK]

Halliday is a big noise in modern linguistics (a big enough noise for him to attract the attention of Wikipedia, I imagine); I think he's Australian - at least, he teaches there. I can't claim to be a fan.

b

 

[Raymott]

Ah, yes, it comes back to me. I wonder if the OP had a question, or a point of interest.

 

[Tdol]

We use language to express our thoughts.

We also use language to have those thoughts, at least to a certain degree.

 

[Raymott]

We also use language to have those thoughts, at least to a certain degree.

Yes, to some degree. It's still contentious how well we can think without language - or how well our ancestors could think before they developed language. And how well animals can think, given that they don't have language as we understand it. It's obvious that animals can think and communicate at sometimes rather high levels, involving planning and decision making.

 

[Tdol]

I agree that some animals are capable of high level thinking without language, but once a human has learnt a language, it does tend to dominate.

 

[BobK]

We also use language to have those thoughts, at least to a certain degree.

That's Halliday's excuse for using the word 'ideational'. Molière's Bourgeois Gentilhomme. I don't have the verbatim quote to hand, but the gist was 'Gosh! And to think I've been talking in prose all my life without knowing it.' ;-)

b

 

[DarrenTomlyn]

We also use language to have those thoughts, at least to a certain degree.

This is where our current lack of full recognition and understanding of language really starts to hurt and hinder our understanding of other things that exist in relation to - (or even because of) - it.

Language affects our thoughts on a far more fundamental level than is currently truly recognised and understood.

(There is some cutting-edge research going on into how much it affects the physiology of the brain itself, (so at least someone has some idea of what is happening, but without its full context) - which should give you all a clue as to what is really happening, and therefore how language truly functions, and what language is therefore truly about - how it fulfils its purpose...)