CHAPTER THREE

Language Function
Language
human system of
communication that uses
arbitrary signals, such as
voice sounds, gestures, or
written symbols.
Three distinct uses of
language
Informative language

Expressive language

Directive language

Informative Language
involves an effort to communicate
some content.
EXAMPLE:
Subconsciously, 40% of those who
suffer from Insomnia are actually
afraid of the dark. Achluophobia- Fear
of darkness.



This kind of use presumes that the content of
what is being communicated is actually true,
so it will be our central focus in the study of
logic.
Expressive language
intends only to vent some feeling, or
perhaps to evoke some feeling from other
people.
EXAMPLE:
Forgive someone because you believe they are
truly sorry, not just because you want to
keep them in your life.
Although such uses don't convey any
information, they do serve an important function
in everyday life, since how we feel sometimes
matters as much asor more thanwhat we
hold to be true.
Directive language
aim to cause or to prevent some
overt action by a human agent.
EXAMPLE:
Do not leave personal belongings
unattended.


The point in the example is to make someone
perform (or forswear) a particular action. This is
a significant linguistic function, too, but like the
expressive use, it doesn't always relate logically
to the truth of our beliefs.
Less common types of
use
Ceremonial language (ritual
language use)
words may combine expressive and
other functions.

Performative language
perform the action the function they
announce.

Kinds of sentence
Declarative
sentences that form a statement

Interrogative
sentences that form a question

Exclamatory
sentences that attempt to powerful feelings, or
emotions

Imperative
sentences that make a command or request

Notice that the intended use in a
particular instance often depends more
on the specific context and tone of
voice than it does on the grammatical
form or vocabulary of what is said. The
simple declarative sentence, "I'm
hungry," for example, could be used to
report on a physiological condition, or
to express a feeling, or implicitly to
request that someone feed me.
In fact, uses of two or more
varieties may be mixed together in
a single utterance; "Stop that,"
for example, usually involves both
expressive and directive functions
jointly.

EXERCISE

If I speak in the tongues of
men and of angels, but have
not love, I am a noisy gong
or a clanging cymbal.

-I Cor. 13:1
Emotive Language, Neutral Language, and
Disputes
Emotive Language
Substituting facts and evidence
with words that stir up emotion,
with the attempt to manipulate
others into accepting the truth
of the argument.

EXAMPLE
By rejecting God, you are rejecting
goodness, kindness, and love itself.
Instead of just not
believing in God, we
are rejecting God,
which is much
STRONGER term.
Kinds of Agreement and
Disagreement

The degrees of agreement in belief and attitude
are independent of each other, there are four
possible combinations at work here:

Agreement in belief and agreement in attitude:
There aren't any problems in this instance, since
both parties hold the same positions and have the
same feelings about them.

Agreement in belief but disagreement in attitude:
This case, if unnoticed, may become the cause of
endless (but pointless) shouting between people
whose feelings differ sharply about some fact upon
which they are in total agreement.


Disagreement in belief but agreement in
attitude: In this situation, parties may
never recognize, much less resolve,
their fundamental difference of opinion,
since they are lulled by their shared
feelings into supposing themselves
allied.

Disagreement in belief and disagreement
in attitude: Here the parties have so
little in common that communication
between them often breaks down entirely.

Neutral Language
Not engaged on either side;
specifically not aligned with a
political or ideological grouping.
It is non-judgmental, non-
controlling and non-defensive
EXAMPLE
Neutral Language (Non-controlling)

Lets talk about that and could you also
write a memo? (Non-controlling)

-Rather than-

Lets not talk about that. Write me a
memo. (Controlling language)

DISPUTES
To engage in argument. The
difference lead to the dispute
may be disagreements in beliefs
about the facts, or disagreements
in attitude about facts that
actually agreed upon
DISPUTES IN BELIEF AND
DISPUTES IN ATTITUDE
One way of classifying disputes is by
determining whether they involve
disagreements in belief, or disagreements
in attitude.

A disagreement in belief is a disagreement
about the way the world is, while a
disagreement in attitude is a disagreement
about how we feel about things.
EXAMPLE
When L says, "Unfortunately, Third died of
cancer, and S retorts, "No, he died of a
heart attack, and besides, who cares?"
clearly L and S are disagreeing in both
belief and attitude. However when L says,
"Unfortunately, Third died of cancer," and S
responds "No, he didn't, thank goodness," it
is obvious that the two are disagreeing in
belief only. Finally, if L says,
"Unfortunately, Third died of cancer," and S
counters with, "I know, but so what?" the
two are apparently disagreeing in attitude
only.
Disputes in attitude arise largely
because of the use of emotionally
charged words.

EXAMPLE:
Instead of using a word like "government
official," which is emotionally neutral,
we'll use the term "public servant"
which expresses a favorable attitude
toward a government official.
VERBAL DISPUTES
Verbal disputes often arise when the
disputants simply mean something
different by a particular word or
phrase. Unfortunately however, each
person fails to recognize that the
other fellow simply means something
else.
EXAMPLE
Suppose L says, "The prospector got
some gold from the bank," meaning
that he found some gold at the edge
of a river, while S responds, "No. He
never goes to banks," by which he
means that the prospector never
visits financial institutions.


When this type of verbal dispute in
belief arises it does so because a word
or phrase is ambiguous.
DISPUTE IN ATTITUDE
This kind of dispute often involves
evaluative terms.
EXAMPLE
Suppose, for example, L' claims that
First is a good father because he works
hard for his family and tries to provide
them with what they need financially. S,
on the other hand, disagrees because
First pays little attention to their
emotional needs. In these sorts of cases
the two disputants are using different
sets of criteria. (In this instance, L'
criteria for being a good father are
quite different from Smith's.)