Placing structure to concepts we give meaning to is a very Nietzschean idea. Through doing so, we grow the concepts and achieve a more likeness to the content. Jakobson from “Linguistics and Poetics” attempts to reduce the different facets of language using their inherent functions. He first gives meaning to the six factors of language first: addresser, context, message, contact, code, and the addressee. The addresser and the addressee are quite the opposites, where the addresser is where a message originates to give to the audience, who receives the message. The message is the content, text, or the idea that is being passed over, and it links the addresser and the addressee together. The code is where the message gains its meaning through rules, as it will be encoded by the addressor to be decoded be the addressee. The context is similar to the setting of the message and must be obviously communicated over through the message. Finally, the contact is what allows for the addresser and the addressee to maintain a connection together to further communications.

Each factor of language relate to what Jakobson calls a function. The poetic function of language is where the message places emphasis upon itself due to its more obscure message. It is meant for the addressee to delve into the syntagmatic and associative relationships between the words so that the core message is unlocked. However when the emphasis of the message is placed on the addressor or the addressee, the emotive and conative functions, respectively, are brought forth. The emotive function relies on the addressor to pass on their emotions and feelings to the message. In the case of the conative function, the message garners a response from the addressee, placing emphasis on them to maintain the communication channel. Similarly, the phatic function has the sole reason to maintain the contact, yet carries absolutely no substance. The referential function corresponds to the context; who and what the message is referring to. Finally, the metalingual function ties in with the code where they place emphasis on sentence structure and the specific words used. Jakobson created all factors and their underlying functions seek to build a structure of language that would help us further our relationships to each other.