Define four of the seven functions of language and provide examples of each

Answer:

The most basic function of language is instrumental. This means we can use it to obtain what we need or desire. For instance, when you send an e-vite to your friends to a party to celebrate a birthday, the invitation is instrumental in that you want your friends to come to the party and the invitation helps make that happen.
- A second (and closely related) language function is regulatory, meaning that we can use it to control or regulate the behaviors of others. In your invitation, you may ask your friends to bring a bottle of wine or a dessert to the party, as a way of regulating their behavior.
- Another basic function of language is to informâ€"to communicate information or report facts. When you invite your friends to the party, you usually include the date and time to inform them of when you want them to come.
- We also use language to acquire knowledge and understanding, which is referred to as a heuristic use. When you want to invite friends, you may ask them to respond to indicate if they are available at that date and time to learn if your party is going to occur as scheduled or if you need to make some changes.
- When language is used in an interactional fashion, it establishes and defines social relationships in both interpersonal and group settings. Thus, when you invite your friends to a celebration, you engage in a behavior that helps maintain your relationship with them as friends.
- Personal language expresses individuality and personality and is more common in private than in public settings. When you invite your friends to the party, you might jokingly add a private message to one, "Don't bring a cheap bottle of wine, like you did last time." In this way, you use language to express your sense of humor.
- A final way you can use language is imaginatively. Imaginative language is used to express oneself artistically or creatively, as in drama, poetry, or stories. Thus, if your e-vite says "Screw cake, let's drink!" or "Let Them Eat Cake," you would be using the imaginative function of language. For another example of the imaginative use of language, see Did You Know? Candidate for a Pullet Surprise.