The Function of Language and Communication

Running head: LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION 1
Language and Communication
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LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION 2
The function of Language and Communication
Introduction
Language is a word that is commonly used to refer to modes of communication.
Language can be defined as the method of human communication, it can be written or spoken,
and it consists of the use of words in a well-thought-out and conformist way or it can be defined
as the system of communication used by a specific community or country, (Akmajian, Bickmore,
and Harnish, 2017). The study of language has been going on since tome in memorial and the
scientific study of language is known as linguistics. It estimated that there are more than 5000
human languages in the world being used while there are some languages believed to be defunct,
(Bonvillain, 2019). Communication is the process of exchanging or passing information and this
can be done through writing, speaking or using another medium such as gestures. Naturally,
languages are spoken or signed but they can also be encoded to secondary media using visual
and audio stimuli such as braille, signed and whistling. There different philosophical
perspectives of languages and some believe that language can be used to refer to the cognitive
capacity to learn and use complex communication systems. Language and communication have
several functions in our community today, (Ellis and Beattie, 2017). This essay uses the code
Blue: 9x2 Reagan Family Dinner Scene to portray the functions of language and the different
styles used in communication. Human beings are naturally social beings and that means they
need to communicate with others hence it is important to understand and master the language
used to communicate.
Functions of Language and Communication
Obviously, the functions of language and communication cannot be ignored since it is the
core of human existence. Have you imagined a scenario where you cannot communicate to

LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION 3
anyone? I bet it can be a bad nightmare. We have to communicate in one way or another and this
does not have to be necessarily through writing or speaking. I chose the ode Blue: 9x2 Reagan
Family Dinner Scene video for my analysis since I found it more interesting and I can personally
relate to the setup.
There are several functions of language some of which are lofty and almost abstract while
some are very ordinary and they can easily go unnoticed as functions of languages. These
functions can be categorized into micro functions and macro functions. Macro functions refer to
the broad general purpose uses of language while the micro functions refer to specific individual
language uses. In this essay, we are going to concentrate on the micro functions of language in
communication as portrayed in the video. The seven main functions as identified by Finch, 2003
include to give delight, as a means of communication, as an instrument of thought, to identify
and clarify things, to provide a record, for purpose of sociability and to release nervous or
physical energy. These are not the only functions of language but since we cannot exhaust them,
in this essay we are going to concentrate on the seven functions mentioned above.
Language is used for physiological purposes such as to release nervous energy as seen in
the video. When Jamie's family launched the code blue on Eddie she felt sidelined in her own
personal issues to the extent that the family had already selected a wedding dress for her
wedding. When she could not bear it any longer she yells "Stop! Stop! Stop! I am glad that
everybody is excited but this is my wedding, our wedding, and we are going to make all the
decision...." At this point, she was using her hands and changed and used a rising tone to get the
attention of everyone at the table and show how serious she was about the topic. Her facial
expression also suddenly changed to portray her feelings on this matter. Eddie was feeling all
nervous to be welcomed in the family and she used language to release her nervous energy. At