The study of language functions

The study of language functions

1. Language functions allow a human to create a variety of cultural identities unique to the products of the human language learning system such as economic or political systems and rule-governed societies (e.g., Dance, 1985)

2. EXPANDED LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS

   • FLEXIBILITY
     • According to the situation, the human being will be more flexible with the situations around his/her.
   • PRODUCTIVITY
     • The person who use the expanded language functions, is able to use language to create a variety of linguistic forms for literacy.
   • REDUNDANCY
     • When the speaker may try to use more words to convey a particular meaning.
   • CONCRETE COGNITION
     • The child is able to think in the rules of societal expectations are able to use more advanced language structures and vocabulary.
   • SPEECH ACTS
     • Semantic development allows a speaker of English to use language to perform a variety of functions within a conversation.
   • EXPANDED SPEECH ACTS
     • The speech acts generate more and more meaning for the speakers and the listeners.
   • DISPLACEMENT
     • Expanded language function that begins early on and continues to expand throughout a person’s thinking.
   • SEMANTICITY
     • Increasing complexity of meaning words and the relations throughout life

3. LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS

   • Speaker learns these types in the process of acquiring language.
     • SEMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
       • The child learns this through the relations with the environment
       • The basic semantic relationships is agent+action+object
     • EXTENDED SEMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
       • The child adds additional patterns and expands his/her language. We can see it at 3 age.
       • Being able to refer allows a speaker to be specific about the message the speaker wants to convey (e.g., Kasher, 1998)
     • SOCIAL INTENTIONS
       • The child expresses what they “know” from what they learn about their world.
       • Some of the social intentions for representing language functions include greeting, rejecting, denying, existing, negating, and requesting.
       • Social intentions refer to the child’s purpose for communicating with someone else.
     • PREOPERATIONAL COGNITION
       • The child is learning more about how to relate to others (social development) as well as about how he or she thinks about play (cognitive development).
     • PROBLEMS WITH ACQUIRING BASIC SEMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
       • The lack of social and cognitive development affects language acquisition.