In this unit, we will examine the other three elements of the communication system
along with their three functions:
- message (poetic function)
- contact (phatic function)
- code (metalinguistic function).
Factors of verbal communication 1:
| CONTEXT |
| ADDRESSER ------------------ MESSAGE ----------------- ADDRESSEE |
| CONTACT |
| CODE |
Fundamental functions of the verbal communication 2:
| REFERENTIAL |
| EMOTIVE ------------------ POETIC ----------------- CONATIVE |
| PHATIC |
| METALINGUAL |
Poetic function
In the previous unit, we affirmed that an utterance is built by selection
(syntagmatic axis) and combination (syntagmatic axis). Well, JAkobsón states that
«The poetic function projects the principle of equivalence from the axis of selection
into the axis of combination» 3.
In simpler words, we can say that, in poetry, the principles of syntactical construction - rules
that prevent certain types of contiguousness - are sometimes ignored, and syntagmatic construction
(verse composition) occurs by referring to the paradigmatic repertoire. Here is an example.
Although it is in Italian, it should be clear that its importance is in the sound of word and
word combinations, not in their denotative meaning:
| Chi mai grida in Crimea |
| dai crinali violacei? |
| Quale ardente chimera |
| incrimina la pace? |
| |
| Lacrime di Crimea! |
| La chimera dilegua |
| oltre le creste cremisi |
| col grido della tregua. 4 |
"Le creste cremisi" is an example in which two words, in this case "creste" and
"cremisi", are close on the paradigmatic axis (they both begin with accented "cre"), while
they are not a common combination on the syntagmatic axis. The repetition of the string "cri",
and its absence when the reader is induced to expect it ("chimera", with the "r" sound
in a different position so that the quick reader is induced to read again "Crimea" instead of
"Chimera", or "crinali", which is easier to read as "crimali") is one of many points of this
poetic texture that flows on its own, without any syntagmatic concern. Poetic discourse is
based on collocation, meter, paronomasia, displacement, and actual or feigned parallelism.
If one tries to translate this passage into prose, or into English, one realizes at once what
is not always apparent.
It can be, therefore, inferred that the poetic function is based on the message,
which becomes important as such, almost regardless of the other six elements of the communication.
It is important to keep in mind that the poetic function can be found even in a
prose text. In this case, the poetic function is not the dominant, but it can be found under
the layers of the other (more important) functions. Here is an example taken right from the
JAkobsón's text we are dealing with.
| ['] in metalanguage the sequence is used to build an equation, whereas in
poetry the equation is used to build a sequence 5.
|
We can see that the two phrases, separated by "whereas", have a parallel
construction, and are characterized by the chiastic exchange of "sequence" and "equation".
Parallelism and chiasmus are peculiar to the poetic function, even in an essay
- where the poetic value is definitely of secondary importance.
The phatic function
Some messages are not relevant to the MESSAGE in the center of the table above: their
main aim is to maintain the contact with the addressee. Good examples could be sentences like
"Hello?" or "Can you hear me?" (speaking by phone) or, again, sentences that aim at prolonging a
contact, a conversation. In an elevator, for instance, the contact with other people is an end in
itself and its function is that of avoiding some embarrassing minutes of silence: the sentence
"It's a nice day, isn't it?", disguised as a question, is merely a way of making some kind of
conversation. An answer like "Yes, but yesterday it was less windy" actually means ("Yes, I am
ready to keep a contact with you, provided that, in our relationship, we will limit ourselves
to formal exchanges").
In fact, the term "phatic" originates from the Greek term phatikós, which
means "statement, utterance".
Before learning to speak - according to JAkobsón - the infants learn the phatic
function: when they understand that, by pronouncing a syllable or a vowel, there's someone who
responds to them, who tries to get in touch with them, by replying, by making interpretations
in a loud voice, by exchanging glances (eye contact), they are induced to make certain sounds in
order to establish a contact (preverbal communication).
The metalinguistic function
When language is used to talk about language itself (code), the communication is
metalinguistic. A good example would be: "What are you saying? Are you speaking in English or
what?".
The same occurs when language is used to explain the meaning of a word. This is called
autonymy, i.e. a word that refers not to its signified but to itself, to the signifier.
By "metalinguistic function", we mean an utterance in which the addressee gives or
ask for information about the code.
The reader is not supposed to know the meaning of "metalinguistic function", which is
explained in our example. It is apparent that the locution above cannot refer to its signified,
because the latter is supposed to be unknown to the reader.
In other words, autonymy is a sort of "short circuit" of the usual signifier-signified
relationship. The signified is mentioned, but not to trigger possible associations with likely
meanings: the signifier is temporarily "off", "deactivated"; it is only a sound or a sign that
do not refer to anything, because we are talking about its cross-references, its links.
Bibliographical references
JAkobsón R. Language in Literature.
Ed. by Krystyna Pomorska and Stephen Rudy. Cambridge (Massachusetts), Belknap Press, 1987.
JAkobsón R. Linguistics and poetics. In Language in Literature.
Ed. by K. Pomorska and S. Rudy, p. 62-94. Cambridge (Massachusetts), Harvard University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-674-51028-3.
Scialoja T. La mela di Amleto.
Milano, Garzanti, 1984.
1 JAkobsón 1987, p. 66. Jakobsón 1966, p. 185.
2 JAkobsón 1987, p. 71. Jakobsón 1966, p. 191.
3 JAkobsón 1987, p. 71.
4 Scialoja 1984, p. 107.
5 JAkobsón 1987, p. 71.
|
ON THE NET
(english)
JAKOBSÓN R.
|
