Language Functions and Communication Styles: Code Blue 9x2 Analysis

This essay analyzes the functions of language and communication styles as portrayed in the 'Code Blue: 9x2 Reagan Family Dinner Scene' video. It explores micro functions of language, including its use for physiological purposes (releasing nervous energy), sociability, providing a record, clarifying things, and as an instrument of thought. The analysis identifies various language styles such as intonation features, turn-taking, overlapping talk, incomplete words and phrases, parenthetical descriptions, pauses, syllable stress, elongated vowels, and word choice. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significant role of language in human communication and community.

Running head: LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION 1
Language and Communication
Student Name
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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

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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

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the end of the stage-managed frustration on her she asked, "You don't care if I can cook as long
as I can fight?" The answer she got seemed a relief to her and she felt comfortable around the
family now that she realized the family wanted to see how she reacts to sensitive topics.
Language is also used for the purpose of sociability, that is, phatic function. The main
reason we communicate sometimes is to signal how social we can be. The family dinner in the
video serves just the perfect example of how language is used for sociability, (Stahl, Mohr and
Pulvermüller, 2016). The use of mere phrases of politeness such as "welcome to the family" is a
gesture that a family is a well-knit unit and Eddie feels part of it through their communication
which includes the speech and facial expression. The family is using the dinner as an avenue to
socialize and the head of the family explains to Eddie that they tell each other the hard truth
during such gatherings but with love. Language is also used to provide a record of things and
events. In the video we see Jamie's family giving a description of their mother's gown and how it
would look good on Eddie. Even in the ancient Egyptian civilization, they developed a language
of symbols and images to keep a record of the agricultural activities and dates. Language can be
recorded such as the written or in an audiovisual medium for future reference.
The language also helps people to identify and clarify things. The naming of things is a
function of language and it helps distinguish one thing to another. Let's say a lion cannot be
confused to a cheetah since the word lion is associated with the features of the animal. Also,
language is used to clarify things in scenarios of chaos n confusion. For instance, in the code
blue video, Eddie had to stop Jamie's family members from planning the wedding for her and she
had to clarify that that was the responsibility of the couple. The words choice used in any given
situation. Language is also used as an instrument of thought as shown in the video. Every
conscious person thinks and imagines things in a different perspective and in order to

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communicate these thoughts to others we use language. In the video, the family thinks that it is
good to expose people to a sensitive topic in order to expose their worst behavior. This is a
thinking that has been carried on as a family tradition and they have to communicate to Eddie for
her to understand the meaning of code blue.
Language styles
In this video, there are several language skills that can be observed and they show how
language is used in certain situations. There are intonation features such as rising and falling
intonation. Before coed red was launched Eddie was talking in a low intonation and she was
calm trying to look her best to Jamie's family. When the code blue was launched, things started
getting personal and she had to react to the situation. Eddie shouted, "Stop! Stop! Stop! I am glad
that everybody is excited but …" with a rising intonation. This change in intonation was to stress
on the point she was making, that is, the family should stop mingling with her personal choices.
The other language style that is clearly visible from the start of the video to the end is turn-
taking. During the dinner, the members of the family take turns in talking and listening and this
makes the conversation go smoothly as they enjoy their meal. In some scenarios, we see the acts
of overlapping talk. For instance when the issue of the dress was raised some of the family
members were taking at the same time leading to Eddie becoming very emotional about the topic
In the video, we also see the use of incomplete words and phrases. When Eddie was
enquiring about the dress proposal from Jamie, he did not give her a clear explanation and just
mumbled some words towards the end. The same can also be seen at the moment when Eddie
asks Jamie why he could not tell her about the code red earlier. There are also numerous
parenthetical descriptions that can be seen in the video such as facial expression and the use of
gestures. For instances, before the code red was launched Jamie seemed to be giving some signal

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to one of his family members. Also as Eddie was shouting stop, she used her hands and changed
her facial expression to emphasize her intentions.
There are other styles such as pauses, syllable stress, elongated vowels and the choice of
word. When Eddie was explaining to the family about her poor cooking ability she used pauses
as if inviting any comment from the family members. Also, Jack really stressed on the word
"mom's dress" simply to make the issue so personal to Eddie. The aspect of change in voice
quality is seen as the family reacts to how Eddie responded to the code blue. They exclaim,
"Bravooo!" Eddie facial expression also changes after learning about the intentions of the code
blue and feels relieved that the family thinks she did better than Jack and Linda.
Conclusion
The role of language in our community cannot be underestimated. Language is 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. It estimated that there are more than 5000 human
languages in the world being used while there are some languages believed to be defunct. There
are several functions of language and styles used to communicate as discussed above.

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References
Akmajian, A., Farmer, A. K., Bickmore, L., Demers, R. A., & Harnish, R. M. (2017).
Linguistics: An introduction to language and communication. MIT press.
Bonvillain, N. (2019). Language, culture, and communication: The meaning of messages.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Ellis, A. W., & Beattie, G. (2017). The psychology of language and communication. Routledge.
Finch, G. (2003). How to study linguistics (pp. 21-44). New York:
Palgrave Macmillan.
Stahl, B., Mohr, B., Dreyer, F. R., Lucchese, G., & Pulvermüller, F. (2016). Using language for
social interaction: communication mechanisms promote recovery from chronic non-
fluent aphasia. Cortex, 85, 90-99.