Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
phatic communication

phatic communication

8.4
Brief talk that starts or keeps friendly contact without important information
  • noun
  • /ˈfætɪk kəˌmjunɪˈkeɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : comunicación fática
  • Phatic communication

Examples

  • Most of their conversation was mere phatic communication, filling the silence with small talk about the weather and local events.

  • The "message" of ritual phatic communication is not propositional; it does not make a statement about an object or act.

    Academic text (1995)

  • They engaged in phatic communication while waiting for their food, exchanging pleasantries and jokes.

  • At the networking event, the focus was on phatic communication, helping attendees build connections rather than discuss business topics.

Synonyms

phatic speech
vsphatic communication
  • Specialized
8.8

Words used to start or keep a friendly talk, not to give information

is the same meaning but expressed with a different term

How Social

small talk
  • Informal
65 2.1
phatic communication
  • Specialized
8.4
chat
  • Informal
312 1.0

Surface Forms

phatic communication singular
phatic communications plural

Morphology

phatic + communication

The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'phatic' specifies the type of 'communication' and thus denotes communication aimed at social connection rather than information. Given knowledge of both constituents, a learner can derive the overall meaning (small talk, greetings, rapport-building), and this pragmatic function is cross-linguistically common, so the expression is transparent.

Etymology

Phatic communication was made to name small, polite words like 'hello' or 'How are you?' that act like social glue and do not share facts. So, it means 'talk' used to start or keep a friendly relationship.