ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns descriptions of language use and functional explanations of language. Descriptions of language use focus on the communicative purposes people wish to achieve and how people use language to achieve them. Brown and Levinson (1988) describe functional explanations as attempts to locate sources outside the linguistic system that determine how language is organized. ESP has embraced such ideas. Bloor and Bloor (1986) write:
A functional view of language is seen in different types of linguistic enquiry in ESP, descriptions of speech acts, genres, and social interaction formulas used in professional, workplace, or academic environments. It is also seen in attempts made to identify how words are used in particular disciplines (such as economics or law) to express discipline-speci c concepts. This chapter describes the different types of descriptions and examines ESP-oriented research and teaching linked to them.
