Phatic Expressions: When Words Don’t Really Mean What They Mean
- Edzel Sutanto
- Oct 13, 2023
- 3 min read
What’s up. How’d you do. Howdy. You’re welcome. No worries.
What do these phrases all have in common?
Judging by the title of this article, you’ve probably already guessed it: they’re phatic (pronounced like fat-ik) expressions. And if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve probably used a phatic expression already today, whether you realize it or not.
So what does it mean for an expression to be phatic exactly?
Among others, there are 2 meanings contained within language. The first is its semantic meaning, which refers literally to the meaning of a sentence itself. For example, “I have not seen you in forever!” communicates the idea that the speaker has not seen that person for a long period of time. On the other hand, there is also its pragmatic meaning, which refers to the meaning of a sentence given a particular context, not necessarily based on the dictionary definitions of the words contained within that sentence. The pragmatic meaning of a sentence could also include particular nuances and social functions that exist beyond the literal meaning of the words spoken. By looking at its pragmatic meaning, “I have not seen you in forever!” comments not only on the fact that the speaker has not seen the person in a long time, but also that they are enthusiastic and happy to meet them, too.
Clearly, the pragmatic meaning of an expression is the one that tends to have more importance in social interactions. After all, we never just look into the literal definition of every sentence in a conversation; we also respond to the context in which they were spoken.
In essence, a phatic expression is any communication whose pragmatic meaning far overshadows its semantic meaning. More than anything, phatic expressions are used to open up channels of communication and social interaction, rarely to actually communicate the literal meaning of what is being spoken. In other words, its primary function is not to actually communicate information but to communicate a feeling. In social contexts, we’ve all probably used phatic expressions for yet another thing: social etiquette.
Let's consider this example:
Person A: (sneezes.)
Person B: Bless you!
In the above example, the semantic meaning of person B’s sentence is entirely nonsensical. What does sneezing have to do with being “blessed”? (To bless someone has a literal meaning of: asking God to look favorably upon them.) Approaching this interaction from a purely semantic perspective yields an illogical interpretation of things when in reality, if you’ve ever found yourself in any social setting, this interaction makes perfect sense. That’s because “Bless you!” here is a phatic expression.
Of course person B doesn’t actually mean to “bless” person A; they’re just being polite. The pragmatic (social) meaning of the word completely outweighs its semantic (literal) meaning. Person B is saying the phrase simply for the sake of being polite with reference to person A’s sneeze.
Circling back to the 5 phrases at the top of this article (What’s up. Yo. Howdy. You’re welcome. No worries.), It’s now much easier to see how they are phatic. The first 3 out of 5 of those phrases are greetings (What’s up, Yo, Howdy). Meanwhile, the last 2 of those phrases (You’re welcome. No worries.) are usually said in response to someone’s expression of gratitude for something that you did. In both these cases, these phrases both serve a social function beyond their literal meaning; we greet people to establish a social interaction with them while we respond to others’ gratitude to reciprocate their feelings of appreciation.
Whether we realize it or not, phatic expressions form a large and crucial part of our social lives. From greetings to small talk, phatic expressions are everywhere. So the next time you catch yourself reflexively saying a particular phrase, try to stop and think if that was a phatic expression or not. Chances are, it is!
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