Language Functions and Pragmatic Development

Start with pragmatic development

The mind map Pragmatic Development is a starting point for exploring how language is used in social situations and relationships. It covers communicative competence, including when to speak, how to respond to others and which registers are appropriate. Use those branches to make a list of the ideas you want to understand.

Next, look at the flashcards titled Pragmatic development. They cover first conversations and later development. You can use them to revisit ideas after reading the mind map, noting where conversations or repeated utterances appear in the cards.

Explore language functions

The mind map Pragmatic introduces John Dore’s taxonomy, with functions such as labeling, questioning, greeting and requesting. It also includes Michael Halliday’s taxonomy. Compare the examples in the map with the ideas you noted about responding to others and using language in social situations.

For another view of Halliday’s functions, open Functions of Child Language - Halliday. This flashcard deck lists instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal, informative, heuristic and imaginative stages. Study the terms, then return to a mind map and see which functions you can find without looking at the cards.

Use the resources together

There are no quizzes listed on this page. With a free account, you can make your own quiz from a mind map and use it alongside the map to check what you remember. You can also compare your questions with the flashcards as you study.

Place the topic in its unit

Language Functions and Pragmatic Development is a section of the First Language Acquisition unit in Linguistics and philology. The resources here offer ways to examine communication and language functions within that unit. Choose a mind map and start exploring.