According to Halliday's functional theory, what primarily drives language change?

According to Halliday's functional theory, what primarily drives language change?

• A. Technology
• B. Society
• C. Individual Choices
• D. Random Drift

Answer: (B)

In Halliday’s functional view, language changes because people use language to do things in social life. Language is a resource for social interaction, so as society's practices, relationships, and institutions shift, the ways we talk—our vocabularies, styles, and grammatical choices—also shift to fit those social purposes. This means changes reflect new or evolving social needs: how we build solidarity, negotiate power, establish identities, or refer to new technologies and roles. Individual choices matter, but they arise within and are constrained by shared social meanings and norms, making society the main driver of change in this framework.

In Halliday’s functional view, language changes because people use language to do things in social life. Language is a resource for social interaction, so as society's practices, relationships, and institutions shift, the ways we talk—our vocabularies, styles, and grammatical choices—also shift to fit those social purposes. This means changes reflect new or evolving social needs: how we build solidarity, negotiate power, establish identities, or refer to new technologies and roles. Individual choices matter, but they arise within and are constrained by shared social meanings and norms, making society the main driver of change in this framework.