On religious language function (in the context of modern trends of language function description)

Abstract

The article accentuates the importance of anthropocentrism and holism as basic methodological principles of modern linguistics and instrumental in studying language functions. They are considered in the context of essential human characteristics. Their correlation is viewed as a common ground for language function modeling, that is language functions identification, nomenclature, hierarchy etc. In Modern science and philosophy religiosity in its broad sense (a system of ideals) is regarded as an intrinsic human characteristic. Taking this approach into account the author of the article substantiates the presence of the religious language function that is defined as an essential language property to represent varied religious reality and provide personality fundamental self-affirmation in eternity. The attempted is taken to compare the religious language function with cognitive, communicative, and interpretative ones. The etymology of the lexeme ‘function’ given, the author states that man is constituted (via cognition, communication and interpretation) and completed in language (via religion). It is shown that religious language function is in correlation with the teleological aspect of anthropocentrism.