Phatic language is on my mind today. With the virus limiting many to the most basic social interactions with store clerks and others, this seems a more important form of communication. Wikipedia defines it this way: “In linguistics, a phatic expression is communication which serves a social function, such as social pleasantries that don’t seek or offer information of intrinsic value but can signal willingness to observe conventional local expectations for politeness.” The words “okay” and “nice” come to mind.
As quoted in my book, Oscar Wilde has a character in The Picture of Dorian Gray say, “What I want is information; not useful information; useless information.” Wilde was contrasting an aesthetic attitude with the utilitarian conventions of his day, prioritizing the pleasant and beautiful before the useful and pragmatic.
While it is not cited in my book, Samuel Beckett’s short drama Play also seems to employ phatic language in as much as it is difficult for audiences to understand the three characters’ words. Their speech is rapid and disjointed. One of my professors said of this play that it doesn’t really matter what they are saying. Not sure I entirely agree, but his remark seems in keeping with the idea of phatic communication. You can watch a good film adaptation of Play by the director Anthony Minghella on YouTube. Sadly both Minghella and the lead actor, Alan Rickman, have passed away.