This document discusses language functions and notions. It identifies several key characteristics of human language including that language can be used to talk about language itself (metalinguistic). It also outlines M.A.K. Halliday's model of language which describes three metafunctions: ideational, interpersonal, and contextual. Several common language functions are defined such as informative, interrogative, interpersonal, and recreational. Finally, it lists and describes several common language notions including existential, spatial, temporal, and relational notions.

1. LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS AND
NOTIONS
By
Maria Tri Yuditia
Yandres Lao
English Study Program
Faculty Of Teacher Training And Educational Sciences
SAN PEDRO UNIVERSITY

2. LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS
All human languages have certain
characteristics in common and linguists have
identified these characteristics as defining
features of human language, which set human
languages apart from animal cry systems, these
features are called design features.
Metalingual: the use of language to talk about
language itself.
This makes 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.

3. Metafunctions of Language:
M. A. K. Halliday’s Model----
Ideational: Constructs a model of
experience and constructs logical
relations ( through transitive system)
(Linguistic Constructionism)
Interpersonal: enacts social
relationships (through mood and
modality)
Contextual: creates relevance to
context (through coherence and
cohesion)

4. FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE
Informative: Language serves an informative
function when it is used to tell what the speaker
believes, to give information about facts, or to
reason things out.
By use of Declarative Sentences
Interrogative: When language is used to get
information from others, it serves an interrogative
function
Through Questions that expect answers.

5. Interpersonal : Language serves an
interpersonal function when it is used to
establish and maintain their status in a
society.
Five sub-categories of interpersonal function:
performative, directive, emotive, expressive,
and phatic.
Performative: the use of language to
“do things”, to perform actions.
Through quite formal and even
ritualized language.

6. Directive: When language is used to get the
hearer do something, it serves a directive
function.
Most Imperative sentences.
Emotive : the use of language to create
certain feelings in the hearer.
Through Jokes, Advertising,
Propaganda, etc.
Expressive: the use of language to reveal
something about the feelings and attitudes of
the speaker.
Through Exclamations, etc.

7. Phatic: the use of language to establish
an atmosphere or maintaining social
contact.
E.g. Greetings, Farewells, and
Comments on the weather, etc.
Recreational: the use of language for the
sheer joy of using it.
E.g. baby’s babbling, poetry, etc.

8. LANGUAGE NOTIONS
The notion of “language” is subject to radical
reframing in any unprecedented context, and
indeed, albeit subtly, in any actual unexampled
use

9. NOTIONS OF LANGUAGE IN
GENERAL
 Existential  Mental
 Spatial  Relational
 Dimension  Contrastive relation
 Temporal  Possessive relation
 Quantitative  Logical relation
 Qualitative  Deixis
 Evaluative  Semi deictics

10.  Existential: to explain the  Dimension: to express
existence of something; a measurement of any
existence, non-existence
sort;
There is + NP
size
There is no + NP
(not) big, tall, high, deep
presence, absence
length
(not) here, (not) there
inch, foot, yard, mile
 Temporal: to express
 Spatial: to express something
in a certain location; something through a
location certain thing related to
here, there time/sequence or
where? number;
relative position
points of time
in, on, under, behind, near
direction number (1 – 12) + o’clock
here, away, up, down, left, right sequence
first, then

11.  Quantitative: to express  Mental: to reveal reflection
something related to quantity; and expression;
number reflection
singular/plural to hope, to know, to think
quantity expression
(not +) all, much, many, enough, to say, to ask, to write
 Qualitative: to express  Relational: to express the
something concerned to quality; connection in sentence;
shape agency
round – agent as subject NP (as in: My cat
visibility, sight eats fish):
see, light, dark, look objective
 Evaluative: to express something – objective as object NP (as in: He
eats fish)
through value;
dative
value, price
– to + NP (as in: Give the book to
How much?
me)
adequacy
(not) OK,

12.  Contrastive relation: to  Logical relation: to show
express sth contrast / to the logical parallel;
compare; conjunction
equality/inequality – and, but
– (not) the same (as + NP), another cause
contrast – why?
– (not) like – because of + NP
– comparative degree + than + NP  Deixis: the use of parts of
 Possessive relation: to speech specifically;
express ownership,
possession;  Semi deictics: Generic nouns
ownership, possession may be used in a deictic, more
– possessive adjectives: my, your, his particularly an anaphoric
her, our, their function e.g. person, people,
man, woman, boy, girl, child,
– possessive pronouns: mine, yours,
animal, plant, thing, stuff, place,
his, hers, ours, theirs
time, way (as in: I know Bill well
and I like the man)

13. NOTIONS OF LANGUAGE IN
SPECIFIC
 The personal domain:  The Public Domain: to
to explain and elaborate explain and elaborate
personality and things things in general/
related to a person such about public
as; name, address, age, places/equipment
sex, etc.