Language Function

In general, language function is divided to 4 categories:

1.      To Express

Language could express an image, meaning, idea, and feeling. With language we can state every implicit thing openly from our mind, at least to notice our existence. Just like a writer, they could pour anything that comes to their mind into paperwork without thinking about the reader. They focus on their own desire only.

There are 2 unsure that drives us to express ourselves:

a.       To attract people to us

b.      The will to free ourselves from all pressure and emotion

2.      To Communicate

As a communication instrument, language is a meaning formulation channel, delivering our feeling and giving us the probability to work with other people. It can control many of social activities, planning and direct our future.

Communication is the further outcome from self expression. Communication wouldn’t be complete when our expression couldn’t be delivered or not fully understood by others. At times when we’d like to use language as communication tool, we have a certain intention already. We want to be understood by the others. We want to speak the ideas and thoughts that can be accepted by people. We want to make the others convinced with our thoughts. We want to influence others. Furthermore, we want the others to buy or give response to our ideas. So, in this case the reader or listener becomes our first attention. We use the language to pay attention to the needs of public.

When we use language to communicate, we also have to consider whether the words we use can be fully understood or not. Therefore, we often find “communicative language” term. For example, the word “macro” mostly only known by people with a certain degree while word like “big” or “wide” is considered to be more communicative because it’s more common. On the contrary, the word “macro” can gives a different nuance to our sentence like intellectual or traditional nuance.

3.      Tool for Integration and Social Adaptation

When we adapting to a social circles, we will choose a language that we should use depends on the situation and condition we face on. We use different language to different people. We will use non-standard language when speaking to friends and use standard language to parents or people who we respected. In learning the foreign language, we will try to learn how to use the language. Like in what situation we should use some words, which word is polite and impolite. It is to avoid us to give the wrong idea with the culture. Having mastered a foreign language can makes us adapting with that foreign country easily.

4.      Tool for Social Control

This social control can be used for ourselves or to society. Many explanations, information, or education delivered with using language. Education books, instruction books, preaching, scientific oration or politic is some example of language function as social control tool. Besides, we also often seen a discussion or talk show on TV and radio, society service advertisement is also one of applications of language as a social control tool. All of that is an activity that gives us a new way of thinking, new attitude, behavior, and good action. Besides, we also learn to observe and listen attentively to other’s point of view about things. Other example which explains language’s function as a social control tool is to restrain our anger and turn it into a writing form. With doing that usually our anger could be vanished little by little and we can see the problems clearer with calmer mind.