Michael Halliday's Taxonomy of Language Functions

• Instrumental - language used to fulfil a need on the part of the speaker.
• Regulatory - language used to influence the behaviour of others.
• Interactional - language used to develop social relationships and ease the process of interaction.
• Personal - language used to express the personal preferences and identity of the speaker.
• Representational - language used to exchange information.
• Heuristic - language used to learn and explore the environment.
• Imaginative - language used to explore the imagination.