phatic communion

A term introduced by the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski (1884–1942) and used subsequently by many LINGUISTS to refer to LANGUAGE used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than for exchanging information or ideas (e.g. comments on the weather, or enquiries about health). Phatic language (or the phatic function of language) is of particular relevance to the SOCIOLINGUISTIC analysis of linguistic FUNCTIONS.