Practice question · Match the pairs
Match each factor of communication to the function it supports.
- Addresser
- Addressee
- Context
- Message
- Contact
- Code
- Poetic
- Phatic
- Emotive
- Metalingual
- Conative
- Referential
Hints
- Each function is named after an orientation toward one factor.
- Phatic utterances keep the channel open; metalingual ones talk about the code.
Show the answer
- Addresser → Emotive
- Addressee → Conative
- Context → Referential
- Message → Poetic
- Contact → Phatic
- Code → Metalingual
Why
The pairing is exact by design. "Is this thing on?" checks the contact, "what do you mean by that word?" checks the code, and a sentence whose interest is in its own shape orients toward the message. Most real utterances do several at once.
Practise The Sign, the Code and the Six Functions
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