FUNCTIONS OF A

LANGUAGE IN A SOCIETY
 Definition of Language
• Language is a symbolic system based on pure or
arbitrary conventions… infinitely extendable and
modifiable according to the changing needs and
conditions of the speakers. (Robins)
• According to this definition, language is a symbol
system. Every languages selects some symbols for its
selected sounds. The English sound /k/ for example
has the symbol k for it. These symbols form the
alphabet of the language and join in different
combinations to form meaningful words.
• The system talked of here is purely arbitrary in the
sense that there is no one to one correspondence
between the structure of a word and the thing it
stands for. The combination p.e.n., for example
stands, in English, for an instrument used for writing.
Why could it not be e.p.n. or n.e.p.? Well, it could
also be e.p.n. or n.e.p. and there is nothing
sacrosanct about the combination p.e.n.except that
it has now become a convention—a convention that
cannot be easily changed.
• A language is a set (finite or infinite) of sentences,
each finite in length and constructed out of a finite
set of elements.
• (Noam Chomsky)
• Chomsky meant to convey that each sentence has a
structure. Human brain is competent enough to
construct different sentences from out of the limited
set of sounds/symbols belonging to a particular
language. Human brain is so productive that a child
can at any time produce a sentence that has never
been said or heard earlier.
 Functions of Language
• Language is a system of speech sounds which is used
to communicate by its users. Language itself serves
as a means of communication and as a means of
sharing ideas and feelings. It is a tool that is often
used in day-to-day communication. Through
language, humans can transfer variety of messages,
either for himself or for another person. Basically,
the language has certain functions that are used
based on one’s needs. These functions are, may be
as a means of self-expression, as a communication
tool, as a means of social cultural relation, and as a
means of social control.
• It ​has much wider functions as follows:
• For practical purposes:
• establishing relations in daily life.
• For artistic purposes:
• human process and use language as beautiful-
beautifully to the satisfaction of human
aesthetic taste. (Literature)
• As the key is to learn other knowledge-
• Learn manuscripts to investigate the background of human
history for culture and customs.
• Also medical, science, etc.
• Language as a means of communication:
It serves as a means of communication between members of
the public. The function is used in a variety of environments,
levels and interests are diverse, for example: scientific
communication, business communication, workplace
communication, and social communication, and cultural
communication.
• Language as a means adaptation:
• It is the means of adaptation, and people can
express their views together. For example: the
integrity of the employees in a department,
family honor, the integrity of cooperation in
the field of business, the integrity of the
nation and state.
• People can change their styles accordingly.
• Language as a means of social control
language is a social control so that people involved in the
communication can understand each other. Every gestures
and symbols indicates the direction of communication in
society. This control language can be realized in the form:
rules, statutes, laws and others.
• Language as a means to understand oneself
In building the character, we should be able to understand our
weakness, strength, talent, intelligence, intellectual ability,
willingness and so forth. we can know over selves. By
understanding of over selves, we shall be able to build
character, learn positive image and to create new vision.
• Language as a means to understand the other person
• For effectiveness of communication, one needs to understand
another person. We also need to understand his /her use of
language. We need to analyze the potential; biological,
intellectual, emotional, intelligence, character, paradigms, the
underlying thought, and others.
• Language as a means of observing the environment around
• language is a tool to observe the problem and give real life
solutions. For example what is the background of a problem,
then how to observation, how solving the problem, identify
the object being observed, explain how (method) to observe,
and then conclusions.
• Languages as a Tool for Self-Expression
• We use language to express the feelings, emotion and, passion. As adults,
we use language, both to express them and to communicate. So, we can
write to express ourselves. For example, we may remember when we
were happy, we collect our feelings and experiences in a book called
diary.
• At the time of using language as a tool to express ourselves, we need not
consider or care who the listener or reader. We use language only for
private purposes. As a means to express self-expression, it tells everything
that is hidden in our hearts and minds.
• With language, humans can learn everything they want it about social and
natural science
Functions of Language from
Sociolinguistic point of view
 • Halliday proposes a theory of
metafunctions (function which are
independent and calls others functions) of
language, that is, language has
ideational, interpersonal and textual
functions.
 Ideational function constructs a model of
experience as well as logical relations,
interpersonal function enacts social
relationships and textual function creates
relevance to context.

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• In his earlier works, Halliday proposed seven
categories of language functions by observing
child language development:
– Instrumental (education)
– Regulatory (organizational)
– Representational (ideas, reality)
– Interactional (communication)
– Personal (age, sex, personality)
– Heuristic (problem solving)
– Imaginative (creative)

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• Still other classifications employ different
categories and use different terms, but all
share a lot in common about the basic
functions of language.
• Below is a summary of the major
functions of language.

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1. Informative function
• Language is the instrument of thought and
people often feel need to speak their
thoughts aloud. The use of language to
record the facts is a prerequisite of social
development. The informative function is
indeed a crucial function of language.
– It is also called ideational function in the
framework of functional grammar.

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• Halliday notes that
– “Language serves for the expression of ‘content’:
that is, of the speaker's experience of the real
world, including the inner world of his own
consciousness. ... In serving this function,
language also gives structure to experience, and
helps to determine our way of looking at things,
so that it requires some intellectual effort to see
them in any other way than that which our
language suggests to us”.

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2. Interpersonal function
• By far the most important sociological use of
language, and by which people establish and
maintain their status in a society.
• In the framework of functional grammar, the
interpersonal function is concerned with
interaction between the addresser and
addressee in the discourse situation and the
addresser's attitude toward what he speaks
or writes about.
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• For example, the ways in
which people address
others and refer to
themselves (e.g. Dear Sir,
Dear Professor, Johnny,
yours, your obedient
servant) indicate the
various grades of
interpersonal relations.

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• Attached to the interpersonal function is its
function of expressing identity. For example,
– the chanting of a crowd at a football match,
– the shouting of names or slogans at public
meetings,
– the stage-managed audience reactions to TV
game shows
– They all signal who we are and where we belong.

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• Language marks our identity,
physically in terms of age,
sex, and voiceprints;
psychologically in terms of
language, personality and
intelligence; geographically
in terms of accents and
dialects; ethnically(culture)
and socially in terms of
social stratification, class,
status, role, solidarity and
distance. 21
• The interpersonal function is such a broad
category that it is often discussed under
various other terms as in the following
performative, emotive, expressive and phatic
functions of language. They seem to
emphasize different aspects of the
interpersonal function.

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A. Performative function
• This concept originates from the
philosophical study of language represented
by Austin and Searle, whose theory now
forms the back-bone of pragmatics.
For example,
– I now declare the meeting open.
– I bet you two pounds it will rain tomorrow.

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• The performative function of language is
primarily to change the social status of
persons, as in marriage ceremonies, the
sentencing of criminals, the blessing of
children, the naming of a ship at a launching
ceremony, and the cursing of enemies.
– The kind of language employed in performative
verbal acts is usually quite formal and even
ritualized.

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B. Emotive function
• The emotive function of language is one of
the most powerful uses of language because
it is crucial in changing the emotional status
of an audience for or against someone or
something.
• It is a means of getting rid of our nervous
energy when we are under stress, e.g. swear
words, obscenities, involuntary verbal
reactions to a piece of art or scenery;
conventional words/phrases, e.g.
– God, My, Damn it, What a sight, Wow, Ugh, Oh.
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• It is also discussed under the term expressive
function. The expressive function can often
be entirely personal and totally without any
implication of communication to others.
– For example, a man may say Ouch! after striking
a fingernail with a hammer, or he may mutter
Damn when realizing that he has forgotten an
appointment.

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• Exclamations such as Man! Oh boy! and
Hurrah! are usually uttered without any
purpose of communicating to others, but as
essentially a verbal response to a person's
own feelings.
– Such expressive utterances can also be a
communal response of a group of people who
reinforce one another's expressive use of
language to show their solidarity.

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C. Phatic communion
• Phatic communion refers to the
social interaction of language,
originating from Malinowski's study
of the functions of language
performed by Trobriand Islanders.
For example,
 Mrs. P sneezes violently.
 Mrs. Q: Bless you.
 Mrs. P: Thank you.

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• We all use such small, seemingly meaningless
expressions to maintain a comfortable
relationship between people without
involving any factual content.
• To maintain sociability
– Ritual exchanges about health or weather such
as Good morning, God bless you, Nice day often
state the obvious things. Yet they indicate that a
channel of communication is open if it should be
needed.

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• Different cultures have different
topics of phatic communion.
– According to David Crystal, the
weather is not a universal
conversation filler as the English might
like to think.
– Rundi women (in Burundi, Central
Africa), upon taking leave, routinely
and politely say “I must go home now,
or my husband will beat me.”

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• Broadly speaking, this function refers to
expressions that help define and maintain
interpersonal relations, such as slang, jokes,
jargons, ritualistic exchanges, switches to
social and regional dialects.
– We have to learn a large repertoire of such
usages if we are to interact comfortably with
different people.

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D. Recreational function
• The recreational function of a language is
often overlooked because it seems so
restrictive in purpose and supposedly so
limited in usefulness.
• However, no one will deny the use of
language for the sheer joy of using it, such as
a baby's babbling or a chanter's chanting.

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• In the Latin and Islamic worlds as
well as in some areas of China, there
is widespread use of verbal dueling,
in which one singer begins a song of
usually few lines and challenges his
opponent to continue the content or
provide a rejoinder in a similar
rhythm and rhyme scheme.
– Such verbal duels may last for a few
hours and is performed for the sheer
joy of playing on language.

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• If you observe a children’s play, you will find
the power of sound. Sometimes even
nonsensical lyrics perform a recreational
function in the game:
– the repetitive rhythms help to control the game,
and the children plainly take great delight in it.
Adults also have their way to appreciate
language for its own sake.

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• For instance, poetry writing gives them the
pleasure of using language for its sheer
beauty.

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E. Metalingual function
• Our language can be used to talk about itself.
• To organize any written text into a coherent
whole, writers employ certain expressions to
keep their readers informed about where
they are and where they are going.

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• This is the metalingual function of language
and related with the thematic function of
language in functional grammar.
– It makes the language infinitely self-reflexive: We
human beings can talk about talk and think
about thinking, and thus only humans can ask
what it means to communicate, to think, to be
human.

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Functions of English Language in Pakistan
• At present English in Pakistan has become a part
and parcel of our professional life. It has taken its
footing in nearly all the walks of life. English is
now, what David Crystal calls as ‘an associated
official language’ (Crystal: 1997) in Pakistan.

• To understand the role of English in Pakistan, let

us describe its functions through the following
four factors proposed by Kachru in 1982.
1. Regulatory (Administration)
2. Instrumental (Education)
3. Inter-personal (Personal Communication)
4. Creative (literature)
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan

1. Regulatory function:
• Though according to the constitution 1973,
article 251 A, Urdu has to be made as the official
language of the country but the constitution of
Pakistan itself is codified in English which clearly
speaks about the regulatory function of English
language in Pakistan.
• English is the language of parliament, law
courts, civil and military bureaucracy. Since 1971
the court proceedings at all levels are permitted
in Urdu, yet, except the Shariat Court, the judges
feel it obligatory to write decisions in English.
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan

1. Regulatory function:
• At administrative level, in each and every sphere of the
country, English has mainly been used as a medium of
instruction. All the administrative documents at state or
public level these days emanate in English language. To sum
up the issue of regularity functions of English in Pakistan, Haq
in 1983 said:
• “the anchorage of English in Pakistan is that the constitution
of Pakistan is codified in English. As a consequence, judgment
and precedence, rules and regulations, orders and
instructions, standing procedures and mechanisms of the
functioning of the state and major policy documents of the
federal and provincial governments are in English;
information, technological, economic, sociological and
statistical, is also largely available in English”. (Haq: 1983)
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan

2. Instrumental function:
• Since the establishment of Pakistan, English language
has been playing a pivotal role in the education
system of Pakistan. In the start, it was introduced as
a compulsory subject which with the passage of time
has been instilled into the vary basics of our
education system.
• English language, due to its effectiveness in
educational spheres, has infact divided our education
system at primary level by giving birth to
phenomenon of English Medium schools and Urdu
medium schools. At secondary and tertiary level, it
dominates every field of our education system.
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan

2. Instrumental function:
• Though, government at large has not been able to post it as a
medium of instruction yet, a huge population of our
educational institutions used it as a medium of instruction.
• At secondary and tertiary level, the use of English has been
encouraged at large. And students are figured to perform
effectively in English language.
• Books, study materials, resource materials and research
publications emanate in English language.
• Constant educational policies are designed and redesigned to
make the learning of English language conducive at all levels.
• Syllabus, teaching methodologies and assessment criteria also
laid emphasis on English language.
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan

3. Inter-Personal function:
• According to Nida & Wonderley: 1975, at
inter-personal level, a language may function
for:
a. In-Group Communication
b. Out-Group Communication
c. Communication involving specialized
information
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan

3. Inter-Personal function:
• Till 1971, English had been used by the bureaucracy
for ‘out-group communication’ which with the
passage of time had then been used for specialized
information though at that time, a very small
minority used it for personal communication.
• But since 1981, apart from ‘out-group
communication’ and ‘specialized information’, the
‘in-group communication’ has largely developed the
use of English language.
• People, with the arrival of computer, internet, cable
network and foreign elements, build up the habit of
using English at public level.
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan

3. Inter-Personal function:
• The exposure which they have through
internet or cable network encourage them to
inculcate this language into their ‘in-group
communication’.
• The use of this language at public level has
been considered as a mark of higher social
status.
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan

4. Creative function:
• English is used more for writing than in speech in
Pakistan. The usage of English language in Pakistan has
induced the writers of our country to express
themselves in English language.
• Though this function of English is restricted in Pakistan
yet, our country does have some writers of English who
are internationally renowned. But the peculiar political
circumstances of our country have forced many of
them to live in self-exile.
• Larger section of books written in English language by
Pakistani writers is related to politics but the number
of English poets and story writers is on the increase
too.
 Functions of English Language in Pakistan
4. Creative function:
• Oxford University Press Karachi publishes English books which
includes new writers and poets every year which includes
some imminent Pakistani English writers like Tariq Rehman,
Shaista Ikramullah, Dr. Riaz Hassan, Khalid bin Sayyed, A.A. K.
Niazi, Kamal Matinuddin, Syeda Saiyidain, Iqbal Ahmed and
many more.
• The following excerpt from the introductory portion of the
catalogue of an Oxford University Press Pakistan 2001
advocates the increase in English writings since 1971:
“As late as the 70’s or even 80’s, one to five locally books
produced new books were brought per year. Now its six titles
per month! In the Golden Jubilee year, The Jubilee series
alone numbered no less than 36 books, many of them
specially commissioned”. (Introduction to Academic and
General Books: Catalogue: 2001, OUP, Karachi)