Editing Functional linguistics (section)

==Functional explanation==

{{See also|Structural_linguistics#Structural_explanation|label 1=Structural explanation}}

In the functional mode of explanation, a linguistic structure is explained with an appeal to its function.<ref name="Couch_2011">{{cite web |url=https://www.iep.utm.edu/func-exp/ |title=Causal role theories of functional explanation |last=Couch |first=Mark |website=The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=2020-06-11 |issn=2161-0002}}</ref> Functional linguistics takes as its starting point the notion that communication is the primary purpose of language. Therefore, general phonological, morphosyntactic and semantic phenomena are thought of as being motivated by the needs of people to communicate successfully with each other. Thus, the perspective is taken that the organisation of language reflects its use value.<ref name="Daneš_1987" />

Many prominent functionalist approaches, like [[Role and reference grammar]] and [[Functional discourse grammar]], are also [[linguistic typology|typologically oriented]], that is they aim their analysis cross-linguistically, rather than only to a single language like English (as is typical of formalist/generativism approaches).<ref>Van Valin (2003) p.331</ref><ref>Everett, C. (2016) ''[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110720297-006/html RRG and the Exploration of Syntactically Based Relativistic Effects]'' in Fleischhauer, J., Latrouite, A., & Osswald, R. (2016) ''Explorations of the syntax-semantics interface'' (pp. 57–76). düsseldorf university press.</ref>

===Economy===
{{Main|Economy (linguistics)}}

The concept of economy is metaphorically transferred from a social or economical context to a linguistic level. It is considered as a regulating force in language maintenance. Controlling the impact of [[language change]] or internal and external conflicts of the system, the economy principle means that systemic coherence is maintained without increasing energy cost. This is why all human languages, no matter how different they are, have high functional value as based on a compromise between the competing motivations of speaker-easiness (simplicity or ''inertia'') versus hearer-easiness (clarity or ''energeia'').<ref name="Vicentini_2003">{{cite journal |last=Vicentini |first=Alessandra |date=2003 |title=The economy principle in language. Notes and observations from early modern English grammars |journal=Mots. Words. Palabras. |volume=3 |pages=37–57 |citeseerx=10.1.1.524.700 }}</ref>

The principle of economy was elaborated by the French structural–functional linguist [[André Martinet]]. Martinet's concept is similar to [[George Kingsley Zipf|Zipf]]'s [[principle of least effort]]; although the idea had been discussed by various linguists in the late 19th and early 20th century.<ref name="Vicentini_2003"/> The functionalist concept of economy is not to be confused with [[Minimalist program#Economy|economy in generative grammar.]]

===Information structure===

{{See also|Functional sentence perspective|Information structure}}
 
Some key adaptations of functional explanation are found in the study of information structure. Based on earlier linguists' work, [[Prague Linguistic Circle|Prague Circle]] linguists [[Vilém Mathesius]], [[Jan Firbas]] and others elaborated the concept of theme–rheme relations ([[topic and comment]]) to study pragmatic concepts such as sentence focus, and givenness of information, to successfully explain word-order variation.<ref name="Firbas_1987">{{cite book |last=Firbas |first=Jan |editor-last=Dirven |editor-first=R. | editor-last2=Fried |editor-first2=V. | title=Functionalism in Linguistics |publisher=John Benjamins |date=1987 |pages=137–156|chapter=On the delimitation of the theme in functional sentence perspective |isbn= 9789027215246}}</ref> The method has been used widely in linguistics to uncover word-order patterns in the languages of the world. Its importance, however, is limited to within-language variation, with no apparent explanation of cross-linguistic word order [[Linguistic universal|tendencies]].<ref name="Song_2012">{{cite book |last=Song|first=Jae Jung |title=Word Order |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2012|isbn=9781139033930}}</ref>

===Functional principles===
Several principles from pragmatics have been proposed as functional explanations of linguistic structures, often in a [[Typology (linguistics)|typological]] perspective.
*Theme first: languages prefer placing the theme before the rheme; and the subject typically carries the role of the theme; therefore, most languages have subject before object in their basic word order.<ref name="Song_2012" />
*Animate first: similarly, since subjects are more likely to be [[Animacy|animate]], they are more likely to precede the object.<ref name="Song_2012" />
*Given before new: already established information comes before new information.<ref name="Payne_1987">{{cite journal |last=Payne |first=Doris |date=1987 |title=Information structuring in Papago narrative discourse |journal=Language |volume=63 |issue=4 |pages=783–804 |doi=10.2307/415718 |jstor=415718 }}</ref>
*First things first: more important or more urgent information comes before other information.<ref name="Payne_1987" />
*Lightness: light (short) constituents are ordered before heavy (long) constituents.<ref name="Haberland&Heltoft_1992">{{cite book |last1=Haberland |first1=Hartmut |last2=Heltoft |first2=Lars|editor-last1=Matras |editor-first1=Y | editor-last2=Kefer |editor-first2=M |editor-last3=Auwera |editor-first3=J V D | author1-link=Hartmut Haberland | title=Meaning and Grammar: Cross-linguistic Perspectives |publisher=De Gruyter |date=1992 |pages=17–26|chapter=Universals, explanations and pragmatics |isbn= 978-3-11-085165-6}}</ref>
*Uniformity: word-order choices are generalised.<ref name="Haberland&Heltoft_1992" /> For example, languages tend to have either prepositions or postpositions; and not both equally.
*[[Functional load]]: elements within a linguistic sub-system are made distinct to avoid confusion.
*Orientation: role-indicating particles including adpositions and subordinators are oriented to their semantic head.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Austin |first=Patrik  |year=2021 |title=A semantic and pragmatic explanation of harmony |journal=Acta Linguistica Hafniensia |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=1–23 |doi=10.1080/03740463.2021.1987685 |s2cid=244941417 |doi-access=free }}</ref>