Functional Approach to Language Social Factors in Communication

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2.1.4.1.1 Functional Approach to Language

Communication cannot be separated from the context. People do not experience language in isolation – but always in a relation to what is happening and someone’s background. A language is of course limited by certain rules but it certainly develops and shaped by the speakers. This is guidance to further understanding of towards the language use in reality. Hymes 1969, p. 113 notes that there are two kinds of meaning: ‘social meaning’ and ‘referential meaning’. The social meaning is related to the meanings that the society has towards the word. However, the referential meaning is related to the general meaning of a word which usually found in any legal dictionaries. In the view of functional approach, it sees language as a resource – a resource of meaning, with meaning is defined in terms of a function. According to Halliday 1978, there are seven functions of a language. They are: 1 instrumental satisfying material needs, 2 regulatory controlling behavior of other people, 3 interactional getting along with other people, 4 personal identifying and expressing the self, 5 heuristic exploring the world around, 6 imaginative creating a world of one’s own, and 7 informative communicating new information. In conclusion, a functional theory of a language does not only see language as a system but also a language as a product of a social process. 28

2.1.4.1.2 Social Factors in Communication

Social factors are important while observing a social phenomenon. The way people speak is influenced by the topic of conversation, the person they are talking with and many other factors that influenced the communication. Jakobson 1960 mentions there are at least five essential factors in conversation. They are: 1 subject-matter, 2 originator speaker or writer, 3 receiver listener or reader, 4 the channel of communication and 5 linguistic message. Language variation is meaningful and principled to a large extent and has a function to symbolize a speaker’s various identities in a speech community. The factors like gender, education, social status, and interactional status all contribute to the principles of variation. Halliday 1978, p. 89 argues that a language is controlled by the social structure, and the social structure is maintained and transmitted through a language. In the language and communication there are several influential factors that influence the linguistic choice. According to Holmes 2012, p.76, those factors are: 1 the participants: who is speaking and who are they speaking to; 2 the setting or social context of interaction: where they are speaking; 3 the topic: what is being talked about; and 4 the function: why are they speaking. Other social factors also can affect someone’s linguistic choice. One example is that people might select a particular variety or code because it becomes easier to discuss a particular topic, regardless of where they are speaking. The social distance dimension means how well do they know each other, such as the social 29 distance between the participants are they strangers, friends or brothers?, the status relationship between people who have a social role also becomes one of the factors that influenced the code choice for example, doctor-patient, teacher- student, the level of formality also influences a person’s code choice for example, variety in church or at a formal ceremony, the functions or goals of the interaction what is the language being used for? is the speaker asking a favor or giving orders to someone? Jakobson 1960 mentions that the addressee, the addresser, message, context, code and contact are the successful keys in communication. The factors of communication and functions of language according to Jakobson are: Table 2.1 Factors of communication and language functions no target factor source factor function 1 context message informational 2 addresser message expressive 3 addressee message directive 4 contact message phatic 5 message message aesthetic Based on the explanation above, 1 the informational function is oriented toward the context the dominant function in a message like Water boils at 100 degrees, 2 the expressive function is oriented toward the addresser as in the interjections Bah and Oh, 3 the directive function is oriented toward the addressee imperatives and apostrophes, 4 the phatic function serves to 30 establish, prolong to discontinue communication and to confirm whether the contact is still there as in Hello?, 5 the aesthetic function as in Smurf which puts the focus on the message for its own sake Jakobson, 1960, p. 356.

2.1.4.2 The Characteristics of Slang