ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on two areas: how people interact using language, and what we know about the sociocultural practice of literacy. Language varies depending on the context of its use and on characteristics of the user. Most of us are more aware of language differences due to user characteristics than due to differences of use. One type of simplified register results from the speaker’s perception that the addressee is incompetent in the language. Whether written or spoken, language serves two basic functions: transactional and interactional. The transactional function is for the transfer of information, while the interactional function is for the maintenance of social relationships. The differences between transactional and interactional communication occur in written language, although written language is more typically used primarily for information transfer, as in business letters, weekly magazines, and brochures. Speech act theory developed to explain what people use language for.