Functionalism in linguistics is an approach that emphasizes the role of language in communication and social interaction. Unlike formalist approaches, which focus on language as a system of abstract rules, functionalism examines how linguistic structures serve specific communicative purposes.
Functional theories of language propose that since language is fundamentally a tool, it is reasonable to assume that its structures are best analyzed and understood with reference to the functions they carry out. Functional theories of grammar differ from formal theories of grammar, in that the latter seek to define the different elements of language and describe the way they relate to each other as systems of formal rules or operations, whereas the former defines the functions performed by language and then relates these functions to the linguistic elements that carry them out. This means that functional theories of grammar tend to pay attention to the way language is actually used, and not just to the formal relations between linguistic elements.
The establishment of functional linguistics follows from a shift from structural to functional explanation in 1920s sociology. Prague, at the crossroads of western European structuralism and Russian formalism, became an important center for functional linguistics. The starting point for functionalists is the view that language is first and foremost an instrument for communication between human beings. Linguistic functionalism thus, is a theoretical approach to the study of language that emphasizes the communicative function of language and its role in human interaction. This approach views language as a tool for communication and sees the function of language as being shaped by its use in social contexts.
Functionalists believe that language use is motivated by communicative needs and that the structure of language reflects these needs. They are interested in how language is used to convey meaning and how it is adapted to different communicative situations. Rather than focusing on abstract grammatical rules or mental representations of language, functionalists prioritize the analysis of language in use and its social and cultural context.
Some definitions of functionalism in linguistics by prominent linguists:
- André Martinet (1960s):
“Functional linguistics considers language as a tool for communication, where linguistic structures evolve to serve communicative efficiency and economy.” - Michael Halliday (1978):
“A functional approach to language focuses on how linguistic forms are shaped by the functions they serve in communication, emphasizing meaning rather than just structure.” - Roman Jakobson (1960):
“Language functions within a framework of communication, where different elements (such as phonetics, grammar, and semantics) interact to fulfil distinct communicative purposes.”
Claims of Functionalists in Functionalism
- Use of language is functional.
- Making meaning is the major function of language.
- Social and cultural context has great influence on meaning.
- The process of making meaning is by choice.
Schools of Thought in Functionalism
Prague School of Thought in Functionalism
The Prague school comprised a fairly large group of scholars, mainly European, who, though they may not themselves have been members of the Linguistic Circle of Prague, derived their inspiration from the work of Vilém Mathesius, Nikolay Trubetskoy, Roman Jakobson and other scholars based in Prague in the decade preceding World War II.
The most characteristic feature of the Prague school approach is the combination of structuralism with functionalism. As structuralism has been used in a variety of senses in linguistics, the structure of languages is in large part determined by their characteristic functions. Linguists of the Prague school stressed the function of elements within language, the contrast of language elements to one another, and the patterns formed by these contrasts.
The Prague school is best known for their contribution in Phonetics and Phonology.
Jakobson announced his hypothesis that phonemes, the smallest units of speech sounds that distinguish one word from another, are complexes of binary features (+/-), such as voiced/unvoiced and aspirated/unaspirated. So, phonemes are defined as sets of distinctive features; by this analysis, each distinctive sound in a language is seen as composed of a number of contrasting articulatory and acoustic features, and any two sounds of a language that are perceived as being distinct will have at least one feature contrast in their compositions.
Also Read: American Structuralism Explained
For example, in English, /b/ differs from /p/ in the same way that /d/ differs from /t/ and /g/ from /k/. Just how they differ in terms of their articulation is a complex question. For simplicity, it may be said that there is just one feature, the presence of which distinguishes /b/, /d/, and /g/ from /p/, /t/, and /k/, and that this feature is voicing (vibration of the vocal cords). Similarly, the feature of labiality can be extracted from /p/ and /b/ by comparing them with /t/, /d/, /k/, and /g/; the feature of nasality from /n/ and /m/ by comparing them with /t/ and /d/, on the one hand, and with /p/ and /b/, on the other.
Each phoneme, then, is composed of a number of articulatory features and is distinguished by the presence or absence of at least one feature from every other phoneme in the language. The distinctive function of phonemes, which depends upon and supports the principle of the duality of structure, can be related to the cognitive function of language. This distinctive feature analysis of Prague school phonology as developed by Jakobson became part of the generally accepted framework for generative phonology.
Two other kinds of phonologically relevant function were also recognized by linguists of the Prague school: expressive and demarcative. The former term is employed here in the sense in which it was employed above (i.e., in opposition to “cognitive”); it is characteristic of stress, intonation, and other suprasegmental aspects of language that they are frequently expressive of the mood and attitude of the speaker in this sense.
The term demarcative is applied to those elements or features that in particular languages serve to indicate the occurrence of the boundaries of words and phrases and, presumably, make it easier to identify such grammatical units in the stream of speech. There are, for example, many languages in which the set of phonemes that can occur at the beginning of a word differs from the set of phonemes that can occur at the end of a word.
Communication Functions of Roman Jakobson
- Referential: contextual information-to be operative message requires a context.
- Poetic: use of rhythmic or prolong language.
- Emotive: expressing emotions.
- Connative: engages the Addressee (receiver) directly.
- Phatic: psychological connection between the addresser and the addressee (can also be referential).
Copenhagen School of Thought in Functionalism
The most prominent linguist associated with the functional theory of the English language is Michael Halliday, a British linguist who pioneered the systemic functional linguistics model of language. Halliday (1975), like Saussure, sees language as a social and cultural phenomenon as opposed to a biological one, like Chomsky.
His functional theory was based on studies he conducted on the language of his infant son. According to Halliday, children grow a “meaning potential” that helps them to learn a new language and its grammar. When you learn a language, you learn how to mean it.
A central notion of SFL is stratification: language is analysed in terms of four strata:
- Context
- Semantics
- Lexico-grammar
- Phonology-graphology
Systemic functional linguistics (SFL) is the study of the relationship between language and its functions in social settings. Halliday believed that linguistics should describe actual sentences with many functions and without a deep structure. He was concerned with the function of the sentence, or in other words, the writer’s purpose in writing the sentence (Matthiessen & Halliday, 1997).
Systemic functional grammar (SFG) is a form of grammatical description originated by Michael Halliday. It is part of a social semiotic approach to language called systemic functional linguistics. In these two terms, systemic refers to the view of language as “a network of systems, or interrelated sets of options for making meaning” (Halliday, 1994); function refers to Halliday’s view that language is as it is because of what it has evolved to do. Thus, what he refers to as the multidimensional architecture of language “reflects the multidimensional nature of human experience and interpersonal relations.”(Halliday, 2003)
Halliday describes his grammar as built on the work of Saussure, Louis Hjelmslev, Malinowski, J.R. Firth, and the Prague school linguists. In addition, he drew on the work of the American anthropological linguists Boas, Sapir and Whorf. His “main inspiration” was Firth, to whom he owes, among other things, the notion of language as system. (Halliday,1985).
In SFL framework, language has three meta-functions. They are ideational meta-function, interpersonal meta-function, and textual meta-function as described below.
Ideational Meta-Function
When language is used to construe our experience of the world and our consciousness, it fulfils its ideational meta-function. The ideational meta-function is the function for construing human experience. It reflects the contextual value of “field”, that is, the nature of the social process in which the language is implicated. The ideational meta-function is concerned with ‘ideation’, grammatical resources for construing our experience of the world around and inside us.
Under the concept of ideational meta-function is the important Transitivity System. According to Halliday, transitivity is a kind of grammatical system to reflect as well as to “impose order on the endless variation and flow of events” in the real world, and Transitivity System construes the world of experiences into a manageable set of process types (Halliday, 1994).
Transitivity analysis has been generally used to comprehend the language of speakers and writers because it analyses the structure of sentences which are carried out by processes, the participants associated with these processes, and the circumstances in which processes and participants are included. Using transitivity analysis, linguists have uncovered that language structures can deliver certain meanings and ideas which are not constantly clear for users.
Interpersonal Meta-Function
The interpersonal meta-function relates to a text’s aspects of tenor or interactivity. This meta-function allows us to express the interactions and complex relations with the other person in society. In SFL, the interpersonal meta-function represents “the idea that language can be used as a means of communicating information” (Halliday, 1975). The fundamental nature of any communication process is that of dialogue (Halliday, 1975). When we initiate or respond to the act of giving or demanding for goods-&-services or information, language fulfils its function of exchange.
The interpersonal meta-function is concerned with the interaction between speaker and addressee, the grammatical resources for enacting social roles in general, and speech roles in particular, in dialogic interaction, i.e. for establishing, changing, and maintaining interpersonal relations.
Textual Meta-Function
The textual meta-function relates to mode, the internal organization and communicative nature of a text. Systemic functional grammar deals with all of these areas of meaning equally within the grammatical system itself. Textual meta-function helps organize discourse and preserve continuity and flow in our texts. It’s about the internal organization and communicative nature of a text. Many devices are employed to achieve this function. They are mainly reference, ellipsis, substitution, conjunction, and lexical cohesion. And lexical cohesion can be realized by means of repetition, synonymy, and collocation, etc. These linguistic clues are the most obvious ones the readers cannot afford to miss.
Also Read: Structuralism in Linguistics
The textual meta-function is concerned with the creation of text with the presentation of ideational and interpersonal meanings as information that can be shared by speaker and listener in text unfolding in context.
Halliday expanded upon the three basic functions of language we looked at earlier (informative, expressive. directive) and came up with a total of seven, commonly referred to as Halliday’s functions of language.
Halliday’s Seven Functions of Language
- Intrumental: used to express the needs of the speaker. For example, “I’m getting hungry”.
- Regulatory: used to tell other people what to do. For example, “Take the dog for a walk”.
- Interactional: used to form social relationships. For example, “Thank you for helping me with my homework”.
- Personal: used to express opinions and feelings. For example, “I can’t stand country music.”
- Heuristic: used to ask questions. For example, “Why is the sky blue?”
- Imaginative: used to express creative language. For example, stories and jokes, “Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.”
- Representational: used to communicate information. For example, “I ate the food in the fridge”.
