2.4. Functions of language

Language is used for various purposes: to refer to (designate) the objects of the physical world, to name (signify) the respective concepts, to communicate one’s thoughts, to accumulate information, to evoke aesthetic feelings, etc. In this case, linguistics says that language performs a number of functions.

• Referential function – language refers to (designates) the entities of the physical and non-physical world.

• Cognitive function – language signifies concepts in the mind, or mental representations of real or fictitious entities.

• Communicative function – language is the major tool of human interaction in which it performs:

phatic function – language provides socializing; it establishes, maintains, and disrupts social contact (e.g. greetings and farewells, small talk, etc.); according to recent findings, this is the major function performed by language;

informative function – language is used to convey information;

emotive function – language is used to express emotions; e.g. Oh! Gee!;

volitional function – language is used to expose the speaker’s willpower and intentions; e.g. requests, commands, orders, promises, etc.

The communicative functions are usually performed together, e.g. Get out of here! (phatic, informative, volitional, and emotive functions).

• Accumulative function – language accumulates and stores information.

• Aesthetic function – similarly to works of art (paintings, sculptures, movies, music, etc.), literary texts evoke aesthetic feelings.

2.5. Origin of language

The issue of the origin of language is considered by protolinguogenesis and glottogenesis. Protolinguogenesis attempts to describe the initial stages of language existence, to expose its proto-forms from which a number of particular languages developed. Protolinguogenesis, related to the genealogical classification of languages, is based on evidence – the linguistic forms of the reconstructed parent language. Glottogenesis centers on the hypotheses as to how human language began. Till present, such hypotheses do not have enough evidence to develop them into full-fledged theories.

Glottogenesis focuses on two questions: Where does human language come from? What were the initial words of language?

As to the source of language, it has been hypothesized that: (a) language was given to humans by God, Hero or Teacher; (b) language is a natural phenomenon inborn in human species; (c) language is a social phenomenon: it evolves through interaction among humans in the family or tribe; (d) language is an inborn faculty which can be activated and developed only in the society (the contemporary hypothesis).

The hypotheses about the initial words of language maintain that: (a) the first words imitated the sounds of nature (the Sound Imitation Hypothesis); (b) the first words were either physiological cries or rhythmic sounds which facilitated work (the Interjection Hypothesis); (c) people agreed about linking particular sounds to particular meanings (the Social Agreement Hypothesis); (d) the initial words appeared as both sound imitations and interjections; further, the social agreement came into play (the contemporary synthetic hypothesis).

At present, the problems of glottogenesis are considered within the framework of a new linguistic discipline which is termed biolinguistics and which borders on paleopsychology.