adjective
- relating to or denoting language used for general purposes of social interaction, rather than to convey information
Usage: linguistics; technical
Examples
- Small talk about the weather is a classic example of phatic communication.
- The phrase ‘How are you?’ often serves a phatic function rather than seeking real information.
- Phatic expressions help establish social bonds between speakers.
- Greeting rituals typically involve phatic language that maintains relationships.
- The linguist studied phatic utterances in everyday conversation.
- Comments about traffic or sports often serve phatic purposes in casual encounters.