form–function distinction

a distinction between two fundamentally different ways of analyzing language, one with respect to its structural properties (form) and the other with respect to its communicative properties (function). For example, a formal analysis of the utterance Where are the pencils? would point to the use of where and the auxiliary verb be to frame a wh- question and the agreement between that verb and the subject pencils; a functional analysis would need to judge whether the utterance is a request for information or a request for action. See formal grammar; functional grammar.

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Psychology term of the day

December 23rd 2024

ambisexual

adj.

1. denoting individuals or characteristics that manifest no sex or gender dominance. Compare asexual.

2. an older term for bisexual (see bisexuality), now rarely used. —ambisexuality n.