LINGUISTICS FORMS AND FUNCTIONS

CHAPTER I: LINGUISTICS FORMS AND FUNCTIONS

A.    The functions of language

The analysis of discourse is, necessarily, the analysis of language in use. As such, it cannot be restricted to the description of linguistic forms independent of the purposes or functions which those forms are designed to serve in human affairs. While some linguists may concentrate on determining the formal properties of a language, the discourse analyst is committed to an investigation of what that language is used for. While the formal approach has a long tradition, manifested in innumerable volumes of grammar, the functional approach is less well documented. Attempts to provide even a general set of labels for the principal functions of language have resulted in vague, and often confusing, terminology. We will adopt only two terms to describe the major functions of language and emphasise that this division is an analytic convenience. It would be unlikely that, on any occasion, a natural language utterance would be used to fulfil only one function, to the total exclusion of the other. That function which language serves in the expression of ‘content’ we will describe as transactional, and that function involved in expressing social relations and personal attitudes we will describe as interactional. Our distinction, ‘transactional / interactional’, stands in general correspondence to the functional dichotomies – ‘representative / expressive’, found in Bühler (1934), ‘referential / emotive’ (Jakobson, 1960), ‘ideational / interpersonal’ (Halliday, 1970b) and ‘descriptive / social-expressive’ (Lyons, 1977).

Within discourse analysis it is often the case that the functions of linguistic items in both spoken and written text are not predictable simply from a consideration of their forms. Chaudron (1988: 39) states that although many verbal behaviours can be quickly and confidently identified, there are “frequently finer nuances of meaning and tacit rules of discourse implicit in even the simplest expression…” This can result in the conversion of linguistic items from one function to another relative to the overall proceedings of the discourse. Nunan (1991: 42) adds that in terms of the discourse we are engaged in, “predictability will depend on whether the discourse or text type contain predictable patterns, and also the extent to which we are familiar with these patterns…” Therefore, the contextual environment in which items appear in either a descriptive, expressive or social role has to be considered in order for their function to be accurately evaluated. A detailed summary of the approaches to the analysis of discourse on this issue appears below. In addition, a review of a spoken text in which linguistic items whose functions are not predictable merely from their forms is highlighted. It will be argued that much of the text under examination involves dialogue that is discourse internal and largely interpretable only with reference to the background information the speakers share or from a close evaluation of tone choices each make. In many cases utterances are made under circumstances where the respondent assumes certain background knowledge already ‘in play’ in the discourse that an uninitiated listener might have difficulty interpreting. For a complete version of the transcripts under discussion.

B. Spoken and Written Language

Spoken language is a vast subject, and little is known in hard statistical terms of the distribution of different types of speech in people’s everyday lives. If we list at random a number of different types of speech and consider how much of each day or weak we spend engaged in each one, we can only roughly guess at some sort of frequency ranking other than to say that casual conversation is almost certainly the most frequent for most people. The rest will depend on our daily occupation and what sorts of contacts we have with others. Some different types of speech might be:

1.      Telephone calls (business or private)

2.      Service counters (shops, tickets, offices)

3.      Interviews (jobs, journalistic in official setting etc.)

Advantage of Spoken Language:

1.      Spoken language takes in some context of situation and hence is supported by extra-linguistic elements including all in the surrounding.

2.      In a face to face interaction, the interlocutor can reformulate his/her language according to the situation or taking into consideration the reaction shown by the other interlocutor.

3.      While speaking, the speaker has available to him/her the full range of ‘voice quality’ efforts as well as paralinguistic expressions.

4.      In a conversation, non-linguistic events naturally contribute to spoken language and make it lively.

5.      Spoken language is only interactional.

6.      Finally, spoken language contains interactive markers and planning ‘filers’ and thus makes communication effective.

Disadvantage of Spoken Language:

1.      It does not maintain strict grammatical rules. So, grammatical mistakes are occurred often.

2.      It is devoid of the transactional function of the language.

3.      Spoken language cannot express emotions, sentiments and feelings.

4.      Spoken language cannot be checked, changed or reformulated if it is once uttered.

5.      It is the primary form of language. So, it is non-visible and it has no written document to prove.

6.      Spoken language is less planned rather than written language. So it would be affected on listeners if it is badly uttered.

Written language is the secondary form of a language. It is visible, written or printed and hence more permanent. Features of Written Language are:

1.      Written language is more structured.

2.      In written language, heavily pre-modified noun phrases are quite common, for example-a man who turned into a human torch ten days ago after snoozing in his locked car while smoking has pipe has died in hospital

3.      Written language sentences are generally structured in subject.

4.      The use of passive is found in written language.

5.      In written language, vocabulary for example-a lot of; thing, nice, do, stuff etc. is not taken generally.

6.      In written language, the some syntactic form is not repeated.

Advantage of Written Language:

1.      Written language is the secondary form of language.

2.      As written language is strictly governed by grammatical rules, non-native users are usually more aware of the rules of written language.

3.      We can express our feelings, ideas, emotions, sentiments, and so forth more freely in spoken language because the reader cannot show direct and immediate reaction.

4.      It may be checked, changed or reformulated if necessary grammatically and pragmatically.

5.      It performs both transactional and interactional functions of language.

Disadvantage of Written Language:

1.      It fails to establish and maintain direct role of relationships with the reader.

2.      In written language there is no proximity between the writer and reader.

3.      Written language does not take place in some context of situations. So it is not supported by extra linguistics elements including all is the surrounded.

4.      Written language does not contain interactive markers and planning filler and thus makes the communication less effective.

5.      It misses the para-linguistic expression and immediate reaction of the situation. So its effect is slow.

C. Sentence and Utterance

 Main difference between sentence and utterance is that the sentence coveys a complete meaning, either spoken or written, whereas utterance usually does not necessarily convey a complete meaning. Communication is the only way two human beings can interact and share their thoughts and sentiments with each other. There are two major means of communication as verbal and non-verbal communication. Sentences, therefore, belong to both verbal and non-verbal types of communication since they can either be spoken or written. Yet an utterance is typically a sound or incomplete spoken group of words that belong to the verbal type of communication.

A sentence is a group of words that conveys a complete meaning or thought. A sentence at least contains a subject and verb that highlights that a sentence conveys a complete meaning because it is a combination of words. For example, when we say ‘she left,’ even though it has just the subject and verb it conveys a meaning. However, sentences are not always simple in structure. There are a number of categories in sentences such as simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and also compound-complex sentences. Here are some examples that will highlight the nature of different types of sentences.

The word utterance can simply be understood as a unit of speech. Utterance can be defined as a part of speech between pauses and silence. This usually applies to spoken language and not for written language. This feature can be considered as a difference that exists between a sentence and an utterance. An utterance can be a single word, a group of words, a clause or even a complete sentence. Let us try to understand this a bit further. Unlike in written language, in spoken language, there are more pauses and silence.

REFERENCES

1983. Discourse Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Introduction Linguistics Forms and Function. Accessed on 25 March 2019 from https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/discourse-analysis/introduction-linguistic-forms-and-functions/BF9737B0F33BDD66847A84470EB3BAE8

Difference between Sentence and Utterance. Accessed on 25 March 2019 from http://pediaa.com/difference-between-sentence-and-utterance/

Difference between Sentence and Utterance. Accessed on 25 March 2019 from https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-rules-and-regulations.html

Language Forms and Functions. Accessed on 25 March 2019 http://www.englicious.org/lesson/form-and-function