Based mainly on chapter 3 from Peter Newmark (A Textbook of Translation) about the functions of language.

1. Translation and Language
Functions
by Meibis González

2. Functions of Language
• According to Buhler, the three main functions of
language are the expressive, the informative, and the
vocative functions. These are the main purposes of
using language.
• Jakobson adopted Buhler´s functional theory of
language and added three new language functions:
aesthetic, phatic and metalingual functions.

3. Peter Newmark
(A Textbook of Translation) Chapter 3

4. Functions of Language
• Expressive Function
• Information Function
• Vocative Function
• Aesthetic Function
• Phatic Function
• Metalingual Function

5. The Expressive Function
• According to Peter Newmark, the expressive function of
language is the mind of the speaker, the writer, the originator
of the utterance.
• It reports feelings or attitudes of the writer (or speaker), or of
the subject, or evokes feelings in the reader (or listener).

6. Expressive Language Functions
• Serious Imaginative Literature
• Authoritative Statements
• Autobiography, essays, personal
correspondence.

7. Serious Imaginative Literature
text-types are
‘
– lyrical poetry
– novels
– short stories
– plays

8. Serious Imaginative Literature
• According to Newmark, lyrical poetry is the
most intimate expression, while plays are more
evidently addressed to a large audience.
• Also, in its translation, there is entitled
assistance with cultural expressions

9. Authoritative Statements
• There is a personal “stamp” of the author.
• The text is denotative, not connotative.
• These texts are written by ministers, party leaders and by
acknowledged authorities

10. Denotation and Connation
Denotation is the literal meaning of a word, a gesture,
or any mark, without emotion. Unlikely, connotation is
the implied subtext of words rather than their literal
meaning. It is the intension, the emotional and
imaginative association surrounding a word.
Example: He is childish
• Denotation: He is like a child.
• Connotation: He is immature.

11. Examples of Authoritative Statements
• political speeches and documents
• statutes and legal documents
• scientific, philosophical and 'academic' works

12. Expressive Text
• Autobiography, essays, personal correspondence.
These are expressive when they are personal
declarations, and the readers are a distant background.

13. Keep in mind that…
When translating expressive texts:
A translator should be able to detect the common
elements of this type of language function, and
should not normalize them in the produced translated
text.

14. Keep in Mind that…
When translating expressive texts:
• This type of function has no ordinary language. It is
composed of unusual collocations, untranslatable
words, unconventional syntax, neologisms, strange
words (dialects, archaisms, technical terms).

15. The Informative Language Function
The core of the informative function of language is
an external situation, the details of a topic, truth
outside language. It includes reported ideas or
theories.

16. The Informative Function
The format of an informative text is often standard:
• Textbook
• technical report
• an article in a newspaper or a periodical
• a scientific paper
• a thesis, minutes or agenda of a meeting

17. The Informative Function
• Informative texts constitute the vast majority of the
employees translator's work.
• A high proportion of such texts are poorly written and
sometimes erroneous, and it is usually the translator's job to
‘fix' their evidences and their style. In fact, sometimes the
translation is of higher quality than the original source.

18. The Informative Function
• As pointed out by Newmark, a translator should
undertake this type of language function in texts using
a modern style (non -regional, non-class, non-
idiolectal)
• Four points on a scale of language varieties should be
used:
Formal, neutral, informal and familiar style

19. Four Language Varieties in the
Informative Function Text
• Formal:
It is non-emotive, technical style for academic
papers. It is also characterized in English by the
use of passives, present and perfect tenses, literal
language, Latinized vocabulary, jargon, multi-noun
compounds with empty verbs, no metaphors

20. Four Language Varieties in the
Informative Function Text
Neutral
• It is also called informal style with defined
technical terms for textbooks characterized by first
person plurals, present tenses, dynamic active verbs,
and basic conceptual metaphors

21. Four Language Varieties in the
Informative Function Text
• Informal warm style
It is used for popular science or art books (e.g., coffee-
table books). It is featured by having simple grammatical
structures, a wide range of vocabulary to accommodate
definitions and numerous illustrations, and standard
metaphors and a simple vocabulary;

22. Four Language Varieties in the
Informative Function Text
• Familiar
Use of rude, non-technical style for popular
journalism. Its features contain surprising
metaphors, and short sentences, the language
spoken in the streets of a town (e.g.),
unconventional punctuation, adjectives before
proper names and colloquialisms.

23. The Vocative Function
The core of the vocative function of language is the
readership, the addressee.
For Paul Newmark, vocative is a term that means 'calling
upon' the readership to act, think or feel, in fact to
'react' in the way intended by the text

24. The Vocative Function of Language
• This function of language has been given many
other names, including 'conative' (denoting
effort), 'instrumental1, 'operative' and
'pragmatic' (in the sense of used to produce a
certain effect on the readership).
• Note that nowadays vocative texts are more
often addressed to a readership than a reader.

25. Vocative Function
Examples of Vocative Texts:
• Notices
• instructions
• Publicity
• Propaganda
• Persuasive writing (requests, cases, theses)
• Popular fiction (to sell the book/entertain the
reader, as the typical Vocative' text)

26. With vocative texts keep in mind
• The first factor in all vocative texts is the relationship
between the writer and the readership
• The second factor is that these texts must be written in
a language that is rapidly understandable to the
readership

27. Remember!
• Not many texts are only expressive, informative or
vocative. Most comprise all three functions, with an
emphasis on one of the three.
• For translation, the linguistic and cultural level
of the SL text has to be reviewed before it is given
a practical impact.

28. The Aesthetic Function
• This is language designed to please the senses, firstly through
its actual or imagined sound, and secondly through its
metaphors. Rhythm also play its important part.
• The sound-effects consist of:
– onomatopoeia, alliteration, assonance, rhyme, meter,
intonation, stress.
.

29. Aesthetic Function of language
there is often a conflict between the expressive (truth)
and the aesthetic (beauty) functions because of the
poles of ugly literal translation and beautiful free translation
(specially when translating poetry).

30. Aesthetic Function of Language
• Descriptive verbs of movement and action are rich in
sound effect (for example: 'race,‘ rush,‘ scatter,
'mumble', 'gasp', 'grunt‘), and they are usually universal
characteristics of language.
• In nonsense poetry, the sound-effect (aesthetic
function) is more important than the sense (expressive
function)

31. Aesthetic Function of Language
• In children's poetry and in the art-for-art literature
of the end of the nineteenth century pleasing to
the ear beauty is more important. (aesthetic over
expressive)
• In other cases, the expressive function is more
important than the aesthetic, unless the translation is
dissonant. If left like that the purpose of the text
would not be accomplished.

32. Aesthetic function and metaphors
• Metaphor is the link between the expressive and the
aesthetic function. It connects the extra-linguistic reality
with the world of the mind through language.
• Original metaphors, being both expressive and
aesthetic components, have to be preserved intact in
translation.

33. The Power of Metaphors
An image used to
make a comparison

34. Aesthetic function of language and
metaphors
Metaphors use language that evokes four of the five senses:
tokens of smell ('rose', 'fish'),
tokens of taste ('food')
tokens of touch ('fur', 'skin)
tokens of sight (all images)
as well as the sound ('bird', 'bell')

35. The Phatic function
• The phatic function of language is used for maintaining
sociable interaction with the receiver rather than for
communicating foreign information.
• Some phaticisms are universal (references to the weather),
some are cultural
.

36. Phatic Function of Language
• Phaticisms should be translated by standard
equivalents, which are not literal
translations, that is searching for TL (target
language) phaticisms.
• In written language, phaticisms try to gain the
confidence and the trust of the reader.

37. Examples of Phatic statements
• Apart from tone of voice, phatic language usually occurs in
the form of standard phrases (orally and in written
forms).
In spoken language, some phatic standard expressions are:
(Newmark, 1981)
– How are you?', -'See you tomorrow! '
– 'You know', -'Have a good weekend! '
– Are you well?',

38. The Metalingual function
The metalingual function of language
indicates a language's ability to explain, name,
and criticize its own features.

39. Translation and Metalanguage
function
• If the items are language specific they have to be
translated in accordance with the various
relevant contextual factors (Newmark, 1988)
– nature of readership
– importance of item in SL
– the SL and TL text
– likely recurrences in TL
– Etc.

40. When translating metalingual
functions
• This translation may range from detailed
explanations, examples, and translations
down to a culturally-neutral third term.

41. Conclusions
• Buhler-Jakobson functions of language
operationally are the most convenient way of
looking at a text for translation (Newmark, 1988).
• Although the expressive, the informative, the
vocative and the aesthetic functions of language
may operate throughout a text, the phatic and the
metalingual are normally involved in only part of a
text-

42. Conclusions
• It is also useful to divide texts by topic into three
broad categories:
– Literary
– Institutional
– Scientific (including all fields of science and
technology but tending to merge with institutional
texts in the area of the social sciences)

43. Conclusions
Literary texts are distinguished from the rest in being more
important in their mental and imaginative connotations
than their factual denotations (Newmark, 1988)

44. List of References
• https://madriella.org/the-informative-expressive-and-
directive-purposes-of-language/
• https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/chooseyourword
s/connotation-denotation/
• Newmark, Paul (1988). A Textbook of Translation.
Prentice Hall: New York, London, Tokyo.