Purposes of Language

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Purposes of Language Language is our primary means of exchanging messages. In general, we use language to tell each other who we are and how we feel about each other. We describe our experiences of the world by using language. Language allows us to think about the past and anticipate the future. We also use language to transmit our culture. The general uses of language are so varied that we cannot discuss them all. Here I list some of the purposes for which we use language below: We use language to label and define. Labelling means that we identify an object, act or person by giving it a name so that we can talk about it. Once something is named, it is simultaneously defined – that is, it takes on the characteristics that people associate with its label. There is a difference, for example, between calling a classmate a “student”, a “friend”, a “young adult”, or a “tennis player”. Whichever label you choose, you are drawing attention to some particular aspect of that person. Another example is that according to the object’s traits, you call a computer a “laptop”, a “PC”, or a “desktop”. Also, you are suggesting how others should define that object or person. (Steinberg, 2006) We use language to evaluate. Evaluative language is any word or phrase that judges the rightness or wrongness of an activity or behavior. Evaluative language includes words like “smart”, “clever”, “brilliant”, “wonderful”, “good”, “bad”…and expressions such as “you could do better”, and “this is a first-class piece of work”. Without evaluative language we would not be able to be critical or supportive of others. But we have to be careful how we use evaluative language. We can create a negative or positive impression of people, places or actions simply by talking about them inappropriately. For example, students in science and medicine think of “simple” as a positive and “complex” as a
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