In linguistics, a phatic expression is communication which serves a social function, such as social pleasantries that don't seek or offer any information of value. Phatic expressions are a socio-pragmatic function and are used in everyday conversational exchange typically expressed in situational instances that call for social cues. In speech communication the term means "small talk" (conversation for its own sake) and has also been called "grooming talking."For example, greetings such as "hello" and "how are you?" are phatic expressions. In phatic expressions, speech acts are not communicative...