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Uses of Language

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Nayyab Asim
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4 views14 pages

Uses of Language

Uploaded by

Nayyab Asim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Uses of Language

Informative use of Language


• To inform.
• To state facts.
• To say how things are.
• Determining the truth value…
• The informative use of language involves an effort to
communicate some content. When I tell a child, "The fifth
of May is a Mexican holiday," or write to you that "Logic is
the study of correct reasoning”. This kind of use presumes
that the content of what is being communicated is
actually true, so it will be our central focus in the study of
logic.
Expressive use of language
• An expressive use of language, on the other hand,
intends only to vent some feeling, or perhaps to
evoke some feeling from other people. When I
say, "Friday afternoons are dreary," or yell
"Ouch!" I am using language expressively.
Although such uses don't convey any information,
they do serve an important function in everyday
life, since how we feel sometimes matters as
much as—or more than—what we hold to be
true.
Directive uses of language
• The directive uses of language aims to cause
or to prevent some overt action by a human
agent. When I say "Shut the door," or write
"Read the textbook” I am using language
directively. The point in each of these cases is
to make someone perform a particular action.
This is a significant linguistic function, too, but
like the expressive use, it doesn't always relate
logically to the truth of our beliefs.
Evaluative use of language.
• Language is used evaluatively to express ethical,
aesthetic, or functional judgments. Terms like "good,"
"bad," "right," "wrong," "beautiful," "ugly,"
"efficient," and "inefficient" are clues to the
evaluative use of language.
• Evaluative language falls into three major areas:
ethical, aesthetic, and technical. Ethical language is
about right and wrong, duties and obligations, rights
and responsibilities. Aesthetic language is about
beauty and ugliness, the pleasing and displeasing.
Technical language is about what is useful and
useless, efficient and inefficient, functional and
disfunctional.
The Performative Use
• A performative expression is one used to
accomplish some social act, in contrast to
reporting, evaluating, provoking, or reacting to
it. To say, "I apologize for my offensive
behavior," is to apologize for that behavior. It is
not to report an act, which has been performed
or will be performed. It is the performance of
apologizing. When the minister or justice of the
peace, in performing a wedding, asks, "Do you
take..." and you reply, "I do," you've done it.
• Both the recognition and the execution of
performatives require knowledge of social
roles and actions. Certain kinds of
performatives can only be executed by socially
authorized persons. Marriages are performed
by priests, ministers, judges, and captains of
ships at sea.
Ceremonial use of language
• Carry out rituals…
• Ceremonies…
• The ceremonial--(also ritual language use)
probably something quite different from
simply mixing the expressive and directive
language functions because performative
aspects are included as well.
Exercise
1. Oh
2. The cat is black.
3. Please sit down.
4. The tea is hot.
5. George Washington was the first president of
the United States.
6. Abraham Lincoln was the most effective
leader the United States has had during war.
• Jonathan is a county supervisor.
• Jonathan is the youngest member of the board of
supervisors.
• Jonathan is the most active politician in the
county.
• Jonathan is a radical and a troublemaker!
• What a beautiful sunset!
• "What a beautiful sunset!" exclaimed Jane.
• American Express - don't leave home without it.
• Congratulations.
• Have a nice day.
• Don’t you think we should go to the class?
• I now pronounce you husband and wife.
• Happy birthday.
• More coffee?
• What a movie!
• To be or not to be, that is the question.
• All the world’s a stage, and all the men and
women merely the players.
• When are you going to grow up?
• What time is it?
• Praise the Lord.
• Art is long, life is short.
• When I meet u, time stood still.
• You better stop right now.

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