THE PAPER

DESCRIBING OF SPEECH FUNCTION

Lecturer:
Dr. Harry Sambayu,M.Hum

Arranged by:

Intan Sirait SID: 22052048

Class 5 C
ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION ASAHAN
UNIVERSITY (UNA)
2024/2025
 FOREWORD

Alhamdulillah, praise and gratitude to Allah ‫ ﷻ‬for His abundance of mercy

and grace so that the paper entitled, “Describing of speech function” can be
completed properly.
On this occasion, we would like to thank all those who have given us the spirit
and motivation in making this paper. To our parents who have contributed a lot to us,
our supervisor, Sir Dr. Harry Sambayu, M.Hum and also to our friends who helped us
in various ways.
Thus we make this paper, if there are errors in writing, or there is a discrepancy
in the material we raise in this paper, we apologize. The writing team welcomes the
widest possible criticism and suggestions from readers in order to make better paper
work on the next occasion.
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

In everyday communication, humans use language to convey intentions, ideas,

and information to others. Language not only functions to convey information alone, but
also for various other purposes, such as asking, offering, directing, and others. Speech
functions refer to the purpose or role played by speech in a communication interaction. In
this paper, we will discuss the meaning of speech function, its types, and examples of its
use in daily life.
Language serves a range of functions. It is usually adjusted the speech to suit the
social context of speech. The language we talk to a child may be different from the
language we talk to our customer or colleague though the purpose is the same. The
different purposes of talk can also affect the form of language and the variety of ways.
Why do we say the same thing in different ways? The answers to the question basically
imply the speech functions.
In another case, speech function and speech act specify the communication's
social
purpose, and up to now, there had been a number of research into these contexts, such as
Derakhshan & Arabmofrad (2018), Kauffeld & Goodwin (2022), Lee (2022),
Oluoch (2020), Rakaj (2022), Santosa & Kurniadi (2021), Susilawati (2019),
Uspayanti, (2020), Nita & Lestari (2021). It indicates that when people want to speak
differently in different social situations, they are concerned with recognizing the social
uses of language and how it is employed to communicate social meaning.According to
Holmes (2013: 275), there are several types of speech functions, they comprise
expressive, directive, referential, metalinguistic, poetic, and phatic qualities. Imaniah et
al. (2017) stated that the person speaking should possess a variety of language
functions such as emotive function, declarative function, contextual function,
metalinguistic function, poetic function, phatic function, and so on. This notion is
reinforced by Rahayu et al's. (2018) findings, which specialise in employing the
concept of Hyme's speaking model, as well as Siegel (2016) research findings, which
focus on pragmatic tasks
 CHAPTER II
THEORY AND DISCUSSION

2.1 Understanding Speech Function

Speech function is the purpose or intent contained in a speech or sentence spoken
by the speaker in an interaction. Speech function describes the social or communicative
role played by the speech, such as providing information, asking for help, offering
something, or giving commands. Speech function is not only related to what is said, but
also how to speak and the communicative goals that you want to achieve.
According to linguistic theory, especially in pragmatic and sociolinguistic studies,
language not only functions to convey information directly, but can also function to
influence, regulate, or form social relationships between speakers and listeners.
Speech functions is a study of a variety of utterances used and their function in
speech. Utterances are produced during conversations in daily life, including the function
of speech. This study aims to analyze whether the speech function occurs in the movie
entitled “Over the Moon”, which talks about the adventure of a girl named Fei Fei. The
data was taken from the movie and its script. The data were analyzed by using the
qualitative descriptive method, through observation and note-taking as methods and
techniques to collect the data. The theory used in this study is proposed by Holmes
(2013). There are six categories of speech functions namely: expressive, directive,
referential, metalinguistic, poetic, and phatic functions. The result shows that out of the
six categories, there are five categories of speech functions found in the movie:
expressive, directive, referential, poetic, and phatic. Among the five functions, the
directive is the most used speech function in the conversation of the movie. The function
of speech can differ, depending on the data source used. Each data source has a different
plot, theme, style, setting, and situation when the dialogues occur.
2.2 Types of Speech Functions
The utterance identifications and classifications fall under numerous sorts of
language functions. Holmes (2013) defines eight different types of language functions.
These are the emotive function, the directional function, the reference function, the
meta-linguistic function, the phatic function, the poetic function, the heuristic function,
and the commissure function. There are three sorts of functionalities in this study:
Expressive, directive, and referential.

1. Expressive
Expressive utterances are an expression of the speaker's feelings,
according to Holmes (2013: 275). It concentrated on the addressee in order
to steer the speaker's attitude toward the subject of his speech. Here are the
expressive function used by the character in the movie
Some examples of expressive speech include: Exclamations, Swear words,
Words of admiration, Words of gratitude, Apologizing, Complaining, Motivating,
Cursing, Condolences, and Doubting. Expressive speech can be conveyed through
emphasis, intonation, loudness, and pace. It can be used separately from other
functions of language because it doesn't deliver a message.

2. Directive
Holmes (2013: 277) defines directives as the act of forcing someone to
perform a task. These speaking acts have varying degrees of express directive
force. Declaratives or interrogatives are frequently used in English to request
respectful behavior from others. The use of intonation, tone, and context in
speech also play a role.
The directive speech act is used when the speaker wants the hearer to do
something for him or her. The use of term directive speech acts consist of activities
such as requesting, commanding, questioning, and suggesting.
The function of direct speech is to repeat or quote the exact words that someone
has said:
 Reporting
Direct speech can be used to report on something that is being said at the moment,
like a phone conversation, or to report on a previous conversation.
 Clarity
Direct speech can help to ensure that a message is conveyed accurately and to avoid
misinterpretation.
 Fiction
In fictional narratives, direct speech can be used to show dialogue between
characters, which can help to build characters and further the story.

When using direct speech in writing, the words are placed between quotation
marks and are not changed. Direct speech is usually accompanied by a reporting
clause, such as "he said", "they said", or "said Julie".

3. Referential
Words used to indicate things or facts are referred to as being referential.
According to Holmes (2013: 275), referential language includes statements that
give information.
The referential speech function is the use of language to convey information in an
objective way. It's a primary function of language that's used to share information
with an audience.
Here are some characteristics of the referential speech function:
 Relies on shared knowledge
The referential function relies on previous knowledge shared between the sender
and receiver.
 Affirms or denies propositions
The referential function can be used to affirm or deny propositions, such as in
science or when stating a fact.
 Uses labels for objects
Children who use the referential style of language tend to use it as an intellectual
tool to learn and talk about objects.
 Conveys meaning
The speaker must use referential expressions to convey meaning so that the
listener comprehends the topic of discourse.
An example of a referential function is the statement "Sales are up 3% this
quarter".
2.3 Speech Function Theory
According to M.A.K. Halliday, an Australian linguist, speech function can be
categorized into two main types: "exchange of information" and "exchange of goods and
services". Halliday distinguishes several types of functions in the context of broader
language use, including:
1. Interpersonal Function: It deals with the social relationship between the speaker
and the listener. These functions include commands, requests, and expressions of
feelings.
2. Ideational Function: It is concerned with how we describe or organize the world
through Language
3. Textual Function: It is concerned with how we organize messages in
communication to create coherent and effective relationships.

2.4 The Use of Speech Function in Daily Life

Various types of speech functions are used in daily interactions. For example:
1. At school or work: Commands and requests are often used to organize activities,
such as in the sentence "Please send me that report" or "Can you help me with this
task?"
2. In the family: Expressive functions often arise when someone expresses feelings,
such as "I'm so proud of you!" or "I'm feeling sad today."
3. In negotiation or debate: Representative and assertive functions are widely used
to convey arguments or facts, such as "In my opinion, we need to consider these
factors."
 CHAPTER III
CLOSING

3.1 Conclusion
Speech function is an important concept in linguistics that describes the purpose
or intent behind speech in communication. These functions include providing
information, requesting, giving orders, expressing feelings, and others. In our daily lives,
we use different types of speech functions to interact with others, both in formal and
informal situations. By understanding speech function, we can become more effective
communicators and understand the social role played in conversation.

3.2 Bibliography
1. Halliday, M.A.K. (1973). Explorations in the Functions of Language. Edward
Arnold
2. Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
3. Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Discourse Analysis. Cambridge University Press.
4. https://jurnal.machung.ac.id/index.php/klausa/article/view/713/340