Characteristics of Language

Conventional
and
Non-instinctive

Observe the people in your

neighborhood, take note of how
they greet each other.
 Productivity
and
Creativity

“A rose by any other name

would smell as sweet.”
Shakespeare
 Duality

“The hunters shot the lion.”

“Lion the hunters shot the.”
 Displacement

“No matter how eloquently a dog

may bark, he cannot tell you that
his parents were poor but
honest.”
-Bernard Russel
 Humanness
“To say that language is not innate is to
say there is no difference between my
grandmother, a rock, and a rabbit. In other
words, if you take a rock, a rabbit and my
grandmother and put them where people
are communicating in English, they will all
learn English.”
-(Chomsky, 2000)
 Task A: Give advice on how to:

• Cope with the mastery test,

• Quit from vices and
• Survive on a global pandemic.
 Task B: Persuade a friend to

• Share her/his favorite snacks,

• Speak against social media
craze and
• Invest for a health insurance.
Language Functions
General Functions of Language
Interpersonal

“Let us talk.”

“Come with me.”

 Informative

Humans are capable of

love..
Performative

I do.
I accept.
I apologize.
I promise.
 Expressive

You are such a happy pill!

This is great!
Jakobson’s Function of Language
Roman Osipovich Jakobson
1896 – 1982
 Referential Function

Context Function

Language describes a situation or

an object.
Ex. “The sunrise rises from the east
sets in the west.”
 Emotive Function

Sender

An expression of the speaker’s

internal state.
Ex. “ouch” “yack” and “wow”
 Conative Function

Receiver

It is used for causing or preventing

an action.
Ex. “Come in and join the class.”
“Run.”
 Phatic Function
Channel

It is set for the “channel or contact”

that establishes, suspends, or
prolongs the communication.
Ex. “Are you still listening?” “Can
you hear me?”
 Metalingual Function

Code

Language is used to describe itself

(self-referential).
Ex. “the sky is blue”
“sky has three letters”
 Poetic Function

Message

Refers to the descriptive language

used to create a picture in the
mind.
Poetic Function
Halliday’s Functions of Language
Meta-function
Ideational, Interpersonal and Textual
Micro-function
Instrumental, Regulatory, Interactional,
Personal, Heuristic, Imaginative and
Representational
Michael Alexander Kirkwood Halliday
(M.A.K. Halliday)

1925 – 2018
Halliday’s Metafunctions of
Language
A set of principles of language that is
essential in explaining how adult
language works.
 Ideational Function

• This is concerned with

creating and maintaining a
notion of experience, which is
both experiential and logical.
 Interpersonal Function

• This is about the world of

people working together to
create and uphold social
relationships.
 Textual Function

• Comprises all the grammatical

systems needed to create
relevance to context, through
which language creates a
semiotic world of its own.
Halliday’s Micro-functions of
Language
Language as constructed by
interaction rather than acquired.
4 – pragmatic
(social functions)

3 – mathematic
(physical atmosphere)
 Instrumental function
• It refers to the use of language to
communicate needs, express
desires, choices, and preferences.

The expression I want to… is often

used.
 Regulatory function
• It refers to the use of language to
control and regulate behavior.
Ex
Go away.
Do as I tell you.
You need.
 Interactional function
• It is often used to develop a
relationship and smoothen
interaction.
Ex
I love you. Thank you.
 Personal function
• It is used to convey information
based on a personal level such as
emotions and attitudes, and the
identity of the speaker.
Ex
Here I am.
 Heuristic function
• It is used to enable someone to
learn something for themselves.
Ex
What is this for?
Tell me why…
 Imaginative function
• It is fulfilled when children create
and modify the place and situation
that they are in by using the
language.
Ex
Let’s pretend… Imagine that…
Representational function
• It is used to convey fact, explain
ideas, relay and request
information.
Ex
I will tell you… I know…
 Language is used in different communicative
functions. Then,
1. What has the child learned to do using the
language according to Halliday?

2. How are Halliday’s language functions similar or

different from the general language function and
those of Jakobson’s?

3. Create a diagram showing a comparison and a

contrast between Halliday’s and Jakobson’s
function of language.