Language Functions & Communication Skills

• The main function of human language is to communicate
• Human communication operates differently depending on the type of message to transmit or the type of communication sought with one or several interlocutors

Developing Communication Skills

• Developing verbal and non-verbal communication skills involves recognizing and exercising the four language skills
• These skills are: listening, reading, speaking, and writing
• This is for expressing oneself through the various codes and tools of language

Strategic Text Approach

• Session focuses on presenting an approach to text that attends strategic planning
• This is through the framing mechanism
• Each sender can guide the receiver's interpretation using different discursive strategies

Emotive Function

• The emotive function (also called expressive or symptomatic) focuses on the sender/speaker or the first person
• The speaker talks about themselves, their personal feelings, ideas
• An example is: "Let's win!"

Conative Function

• The conative or appeal function is focused on the receiver
• It seeks to condition or alter the receiver's conduct and is present in messages
• This function manifests mainly in imperative, hortatory, and interrogative sentences
• An example is: "Introduce yourself immediately"

Referential Function

• The referential function (also called representative or informative) focuses on the content of the message and the situation
• The messages provide information about something objectively
• It speaks of the reality in which one lives such as: "It is three in the afternoon"

Poetic Function

• In the poetic function the focus of the sender and receiver is on the message which should be beautiful and harmonious
• The attention is drawn by the special use of the code and stylistic figures
• This function is oriented to the message
• The expression always attracts attention to its form
• Any manifestation in which language includes an aesthetic purpose qualifies
• The function is especially found, in literary texts such as: "In the silence only a murmur of bees was heard"

Metalinguistic Function

• The language is used to talk about itself, to clarify certain language aspects
• This function focuses on the language code itself
• Used to talk about language and clarify the message
• It uses definitions, verb conjugation, and gramatical rules
• An example is: "Cat refers to a domestic feline"

Phatic Function

• The phatic or relational function is oriented to the communication channel between the sender and the receiver
• The purpose is to initiate, prolong, interrupt, or end a conversation, or simply check if there is any contact
• It tries to verify from time to time that the communication channel is working well; it is common in questions and dialogues
• Its informative content is null or scarce and is used as a form of greeting
• The purpose of the phatic function is to facilitate social contact in order to later transmit, give, and optimize messages of greater content
• Examples include: "Of course, clear, I listen, naturally, I understand, how not, OK, perfect, well, already, I agree, etc."
• It is present in messages that serve to guarantee that the channel works correctly and that the message arrives without interruption