The Social Functions of Language
Why must everything be implied?
Language uses symbols and sounds to help people express thoughts, feelings and meaning. Language was understood as merely an expression of inner mental states for centuries. In the 20th century, however, the functions of language in social and cultural contexts began to be understood and studied by linguists. The same utterance may mean or signal different meanings in different contexts, depending on the social relations of the speaker and the listeners. For example, doctors, musicians, and auto-mechanics have specific words and phrases that may be incomprehensible to speakers outside their community,
Language is used socially to signal politeness or rudeness and the acceptance, understanding, or rejection of the social roles. Typically developing children learn this social function of language through language socialization from a young age. Furthermore, language diffuses and transmits culture at a speed not seen elsewhere in the animal kingdom. An understanding of the social and cultural functions of language is inherent to typically developing human beings and most neurotypicals are able to switch between, adjust to, and navigate the social relations and cultural norms of everyday life with ease.
But what about the neurodivergent? What about those who don’t acquire language in a typical fashion? For us gestalt processors (aka, non-verbal), where’s the explicit instruction that we need to navigate the complex world that exists within the social / cultural functions of language? Let me give it a try.
What Are The Functions of Language?
For centuries, language, through the use of symbols and sounds, was considered merely as a means to express inner mental states and processes, a tool to give outward expression to inner life. In this way, language was most essentially used to convey information. Statements such as “I am hungry” or “the sheep is in the field” were understood as the speaker’s ability to give an expression to inner mental states, in the case of the former, and to their relation to physical reality, in the latter.
However, in the beginning of the 20th century, the field of linguistics grew beyond the study of grammar and began to explore what the functions of language are. Linguists argued that statements by neurotypicals, such as “I am hungry,” do more than simply give expression to inner mental states. This statement could be uttered as a complaint, from a child to a parent, or a plea, from a prisoner to a guard, or even an order, from a king to a servant. In neurotypical communication, this simple statement works by itself to express more than an inner mental state. In fact, it works to establish or reinforce social relations and can only be understood through a greater comprehension of the social relations and cultural norms in context. Likewise, the statement “the sheep is in the field” could be uttered as a warning, if the sheep is eating the crops, or as advice, to a shepherd looking for a lost flock.
This understanding of the wider functions of language have shaped the field of linguistics and our understanding of language and neurotypical language use in social contexts. To neurotypicals, language is a social construct, and language socialisation is an essential step in language acquisition for neurotypical children. Furthermore, language not only serves to establish and reinforce neurotypical social relations, but also serves to pass on their cultural norms and practices. These two functions of neurotypical language, social and cultural, are put to use everyday by every neurotypical speaker of every language.
Social Function of Language
Everyone exists in a complex web of social relations that they navigate with greater or lesser ease every day. A male human, for example, might occupy the social roles of father, friend, brother, son, co-worker, boss, employee, and neighbor, and might perform each of these roles in a single day. In all these relationships, the neurotypical male human understands these shifting contexts and is expected to act in different ways. As a father, he may be expected to express caring, personal emotions such as love and kindness, or be strict and a figure of authority. As a co-worker, however, he may instead be expected to behave cooperatively and professionally. Most neurotypicals are able to perform these roles and even switch between them at a moments notice. Social relations are so deeply ingrained in neurotypical behaviour that these performances and switching do not require much conscious effort, if any.
Language is used by neurotypicals in these social roles for a variety of reasons. An neurotypical may use language to show that they accept the social role they are in, or that they are rejecting the expectations being placed on them. Language use can demonstrate an neurotypical’s membership in a group or an individual neurotypical’s conscious distinction from a group. This is an example of the social function of language.
The social function of language can be seen in the use of polite words, phrases, and intonations as well as in the opposite, in the use of rude words, phrases, and intonations, for example. A neurotypical’s use of language is most always socially guided and forms the social relations with those around them.
Examples of Social Function of Language
The way in which a neurotypical greets another person or group is a clear example of the social function of language.
"Hey!"
"What's up?"
"Hello."
"Good morning."
All of these serve more or less the same expression of greeting. However, it is immediately obvious to neurotypicals that in some social circumstances, one or another of these greetings would be acceptable or unacceptable. A neurotypical may greet friends with “hey,” signalling that they are familiar with the others and perhaps wish to draw their attention. On the other hand, “good morning” demonstrates that the speaker believes a level of respect is deserved by the interlocutor, a teacher or professor for example. This deference can be further heightened through the use of a moniker such as “sir” or “madam.”
The use of slang is an essential part of neurotypical language use in various communities. The use of slang words demonstrates the speaker's knowledge of socially acceptable language within the community as well as demonstrating their place within the community. Many community organizers and outreach groups understand the importance of proper language use in this sense. A community organizer raising awareness about proper vaccination statuses, for example, is more likely to be heard and accepted by a community if they use the acceptable speech of the community. This is also true of individual's wishing to join professional communities, for example, where an understanding of the slang used is necessary for advancement.
Beyond the use of certain words, language functions socially in dictating which topics are acceptable for discussion and which are not. Dark or black humor, for example, may be acceptable between friends in certain communities, but is generally unacceptable in professional atmospheres. An understanding of what topics are acceptable in speech communities is as important as knowing what words to use or avoid.
Language Socialisation
All of the social functions of language are implicitly taught through language socialization, a process which begins in early stages of neurotypical development. Through language socialisation, neurotypical children learn how language is used to establish and reinforce social relations through specific word use, intonation, and various other linguistic properties.
Language socialisation can be observed in the common occurrence of young neurotypical children experimenting with rude words or curse words. Parents and teachers may admonish children for using these words. Children, however, will still often observe these adults using these very words. The paradox of “where did she learn that?” is one often faced by parents unwilling to admit children learn these words from their mothers and fathers. This can be particularly problematic for foul-mouthed parents of children who rely upon echolalia for vocal communication.
On the other hand, there are various words that children should be encouraged to use, “please” and “thank you” for example. The instructions “what do you say” from a parent attempting to coax a “please” or a “thank you” from a small child is also a common occurrence. It is thus through these two pressures that neurotypical children learn polite language use and language use regarding authority figures or neutral interlocutors. For neurodivergent children, more direct instruction is necessary. The open-ended, “what do you say,” is to be avoided in favour of a more direct command, e.g., “please say thank you to the gentleman.”
In addition to parents and teachers, neurotypical children are also socialized through interactions with other children and the media. All of these inputs, some more explicitly instructional than others, work to teach neurotypical children the social functions of language in the variety of social roles a neurotypical child might play.
Cultural Function of Language
Cultural norms and practices and their diffusion are perhaps one of the most uniquely neurotypical traits which divide our species from each other. Elsewhere in the animal kingdom, animals do exhibit cultural influences upon each other, however, the methods of spreading their culture are not nearly as intricate as neurotypical’s. Indeed, neurotypicals around the world, while the same species, have wildly different cultures which are passed along through language use. It is, in fact, mainly through language that culture is transmitted.
Different cultures develop different ways of communicating. In the United States, for example, a teacher may expect to be addressed as “mr” or “ms” and their last name. In other parts of the world, however, a teacher may be simply addressed by their first name. These cultural differences then influence language use and an individual learning a foreign language must learn, not only the grammar and vocabulary, but the cultural context of language use, what is and is not culturally appropriate, and what can or cannot be translated from one language and culture directly to another.
Examples of Cultural Function of Language
The expression of culture through language is perhaps best seen in the use of jargon. Jargon is the use of technical words or phrases, for example in the professional communities. Doctors, musicians, even auto-mechanics have specific words and phrases which may be incomprehensible to speakers outside their community, even if they share a language. The ability of doctors, for example, to communicate with patients in common language is an important aspect of medical training. When interacting with jargon for the first time, it’s important for autistics to have a “decoder ring” of sorts - specific definitions for jargon and acronyms.
Culture may also be diffused through language in the use of linguistic borrowings. In North America, for example, some speech communities might express their cultural Latin American roots through the use of Spanish words in otherwise English utterances. Greeting an individual with “hola” rather than “hello” can demonstrate an adherence to a certain cultural framework. Words used to describe foods, clothing, familial relationships are all expressions of shared culture.
Confounding the issue further, modern language is often shaped by the cultural world. In the digital world there are various means of communicating, face to face, email, phone calls, text messages, chats. Each of these methods have developed particular rules and standards and the way one may communicate over text may differ greatly from how one communicates face to face. These methods themselves fit the cultural and social contexts, with some being considered more polite, more professional, more acceptable under certain circumstances. A meeting face to face, for example, may be considered more polite than an email.
Roman Jakobson's Six Functions of Language
Roman Jakoboson was a Russian-American linguist in the first half of the 20th century and one of the founders of the field of structural linguistics. Jakobson proposed a view of language that categorized language use into six functions: referential, poetic, emotive, conative, phatic, and reflexive.
Referential function: The referential function of language serves in a truth-value sense connecting the mental state of the speaker and the external world. This functions often relies on words that fit the speech into a context, words such as "now", "then", "yesterday", etc. These words are deictic and function alongside description in the referential function. This function is much like the original understanding of language.
Poetic function: The poetic function of language is language used simply for the beauty of language itself and is independent of truth-value. "She raged like a bull" is a statement one might use to express great anger but which does not describe the actual state of the subject, i.e. she is not a bull. Musical lyrics, literature, poetry, and advertisements are all among the poetic function of language.
Emotive function: The emotive functions serves to give expressing to the speakers inner emotional state. This function can be commonly observed at fireworks shows, for example, where the "ooh"s and "ahh"s serve to express the emotions of surprise and wonder. Various other linguistic forms can be employed to express emotions ranging from happiness to grief, tranquility to rage.
Conative function: The conative function is used to draw attention to the addressee. Calling someone by name, shouting "hey" across the street to a friend, or telling a child to eat their vegetables are all examples of this function.
Phatic function: The phatic function is used to sign post language use. Opening a conversation with "how's it going?" or closing a conversation with "oh, look at the time" are both examples of the phatic function of language. This function is used to signal social cues and begin, maintain, or end communication.
Reflexive function: The reflexive function is language used to talk about language. Words that describe grammar and syntax, e.g. subject, object, phrasal verb, noun, are examples of the reflexive function of language.
Conclusion
Language is confusing enough without embedding implicit rules and structures. Nevertheless, these structures and rules exist in most cultures. It’s often left to the neurodivergent to figure them out - often via trial and error. I know that this was certainly the case for me. Hopefully, this brief decoder ring of sorts can help you navigate the arts / parts enough to guide your way to a proper understanding of what’s being communicated around you. So much of this implicit information is embedded in language instruction.
One of the many roles I play in life is to make the implicit explicit for my students. When I didn’t find the language curriculum that I needed for my classrooms, one that acknowledges that both analytic processors and gestalt processors are in the room together - and need to be taught together - I wrote the book. Look for Holistic Language Instruction in 2024 from Lived Places Publishing … available at major retailers.