What are the communicative purposes of language referred to as?

The communicative purposes of language are referred to as language functions. This concept encompasses how language is utilized in various contexts to achieve specific aims, such as requesting information, giving commands, expressing emotions, or facilitating social interactions. Understanding language functions is crucial for both language learners and educators because recognizing the intent behind different language uses can guide effective communication strategies in teaching and learning environments.

Language styles, while relevant to variations in tone and formality, do not specify the purposes of communication in the same way that functions do. Language structures refer to the grammatical and syntactical rules that govern how words are organized in a sentence. Language patterns involve regularities in language use, such as collocations or lexical choices, but do not directly address the communicative aims. Thus, language functions uniquely capture the essence of why people communicate, making this term the most appropriate choice for describing the purposes behind the use of language.