Phatic tokens

pragmatics tools, short communication. syntax and semantix

1. Paragmatic Tool- Phatic Tokens Muhammad Sajid (msf2000387) Hunza Arshad (msf2000406 ) Iqra Shahid (msf2000405)

2. Phatic Communion and Fictional Dialogues “In linguistics, phatic communion is communication which serves as a social function such as small talk and social pleasantries that do not seek or offer any information of value. Example : greetings such as "hello" and "how are you" are phatic expressions.”

3. The term "phatic" communion was coined by anthropologist Bronishlaw Malinowsky in his essay "The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages” which appeared in 1923. “ A type of speech in which ties of union are created by a mere exchange of words” - Malinaowski 1972 (definition of Phatic Communion)

4. Phatic Tokes In 1975, John Laver's research on Phatic Communion in a paper entitled Communicative Function of Phatic Communion According to work done by Laver (1975), phatic choices reveal strong indicators of social status. Phatic tokens, by definition: have positive polarity (they tend not to use negatives) are emotionally and ideologically uncontroversial (such as talking about the weather) expect a positive but fairly non-committal response (mild agreement is the norm)

5. Laver also developed a further social dimension to the token-type used. He identified three types of phatic token:

6. 1. Self Oriented: Self-oriented phatic tokens are personal to the speaker. For Example: “I'm not up to this”, “I'm warm today”, “I'm pleased to meet you” etc.

7. 2. Other Oriented: It is reference is to the addressee. Other-oriented tokens are related to the hearer. Example: “Do you work here?”, “You seem to know what you're doing” etc.

8. 3. Neutral Oriented Token which are pointing not to the speaker neither to the listener directly but concerned with the context of situation. Example: Teacher: There will be no class today. Students: Okay ma’am, thank you.

9. C ont … Example 2 : A friend posted a status on WHATSAPP which was a video of view of place after rain. 1 st Friend : ( Weather Status). 2 nd Friend : Wao ! The weather is so good today.

10. Conclusion Phatic communication is useful in creating and maintaining social relation

11. Cont… Used in conflict avoidance and contain positive polarity

12. Cont... Keeps harmony and balance in the society

13. Cont... Minimize the damage caused by conflicts, communication and tension that need to be avoided at all cost

14. Thank You