Talk, talk and talk! This is one of human beings' favorite pastimes! Whether through verbal language or non-verbal language, we are all the time involved in situations where communication is the main activity of social interaction with our family and friends. But speech acts, whether written or oral, do not just happen. They can be explained through the language functions.
The language functions were created by Russian linguist Roman Jackobson, a communication scholar who explained to us that each speech act has a specific intention: if the intention is to inform, there is a more adequate function for this purpose; if the intention is to convince, we adapt our speech to persuade our interlocutor and so on. All speech intentions were synthesized in the following scheme elaborated by Jackobson:
context
referential function
message
senderpoetic functionrecipient
emotional functionconative function
contact
factual function
code
metalinguistic function
The schema tells us that each function has an intentionality. Today we are going to study a little more about the factual function. The main feature of this function is to check the proper functioning of the communication channel. For example, when you talk to someone on the phone, all the time you use expressions to make sure that your interlocutor, who is on the other end of the line, is listening to you and understanding:
The phasic function tests the functioning of the contact. Telephone conversations are great examples of this language function.
When Calvin says “listen” in the third box, he is testing the communication channel. Other expressions such as “understand”, “hello” and “look carefully” also have the same function. The teacher, when explaining a new subject at school, also asks her students to prove that the message transmitted was understood, right? Another important feature of the phatic function is to create a kind of solidary bond between speakers. Look at another example of a phatic function:
We are social beings, that's why we elaborate communicative strategies to participate in the verbal customs that integrate people
In the comic book Garfield, by Jim Davis, although John is a little bored, the character next to him devises strategies to initiate a possible dialogue. This type of conversation, which is often not centered on the message, but rather on the channel, is very common, especially between people who do not know each other, but who are interested in making a more friendly and pleasant environment through a chat uncommitted. Who has never entered an elevator and bumped into a stranger? In this situation, to avoid that embarrassing silence, we make use, albeit intuitively, of the phatic function.
Did you see? All speech acts can be explained through the communication model developed by Roman Jackobson. In the specific case of the phatic function, language acts as a tool that integrates people, enabling the speakers to remain inserted in the verbal customs that are so important in our society.
By Luana Castro
Graduated in Letters
