2 The Uses of Language Music may be the language of the soul, but the stuff with which we live out our daily existence is words. Our response to others — our loves and hates, indifferences, frustrations, joys and delights — is mainly verbal. Much of contemporary history is witness to the efficacy of dialogue anid the conference table in solving problems of modern man. THREE FUNDAMENTAL USES OF LANGUAGE ‘Irving M. Copi lists three basic functions of language. ‘These are: informative, expressive, and directive. a. Informative: This is the most common function, attested to by textbooks and all other books on history, literature, philosophy, science, etc. Frederick Copleston’s series on A History of Philosophy are excellent examples. So are En- eyelopedia Britannica and Webster's Dictionary. In Logic we see this function at work in propositions and arguments, where something is either affirmed or denied, and this, in turn, is either true or false, correct or incorrect. When we say: “The word dasein is Heidegger’s term for being there,” and “Lea Salonga is the 1992 first runner-up in the Miss Universe contest,” we are giving two pieces of information, but the first is true and the second is false. b. Expressive: This function is best illustiated in poetry where emotions and attitudes are expressed beautifully, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s outspoken love lines, as “I love thee to the level of each day’s most quiet need, by sun and candlelight,” or T.S. Eliot's superbly contained interpretationJourney of the Magi” have one thing ip of Christmas in f thoughts and feelings. common: expression of But it is not only in poetry that this function is seen, Common exclamations like “Oh, nol”, “Right!”, “Look out, “Boy!”, and “Ah, hal” are expressions of different moods ang they are far from poetic, Whether poetry or everyday talk, however, we can hardly ask if it is true or false. ‘According to Copi, “. . . expressive discourse . . . is used either to express the speaker's feelings or to evoke certain feelings on the part of the author. Of course it may do both."! An Edna St. Vincent Millay and a Percy Bysshe Shelly may pour their hearts out in unforgettable lines for themselves and for their readers; but there are also the pep talks, political . and oratorical speeches, Sunday sermons, homilies, and cheering of basketball fans that may be cited as examples of the evocative component of expressive language. c. Directive: This function of lauguage is most easily seen in eommands and requests. It is that which prods or prevents an action to be done. Examples are: (1) Write me a line when you reach California. (2) Emy, please sing Nasaan ka Irog? (3) Don’t use the car unnecessarily. One cannot speak of each of these as either true or false. Whether the command or request is obeyed or not is irrelevant to its truth value, which is non-existent in the first place. Multiplicity of the Uses of Language It is more often the case rather than the exception that any ordinary discourse would contain all three uses language. Newspapers, for instance, may be biased, as when conceived for propaganda or protection of business interests. 1 trving M. Copi, Introduction to Logis, third editi ered Millen Company, 1968, p. 36, gic, edition. New York:‘A poem, such as the chorus of the Greek tragedy Antigone, is expressive of a mood, but it is at the same time informative of the setting and the plot, and directive of human values. A homily, as for the dead, may be illuminating as to the dead person’s life and character, expressive as to the speaker’s own personal feelings, and directive in its exhortation to the bereaved concerning the promise of everlasting life.