The Importance of Language in Ceremony and Ritual

Wendy Harmer : "My favourite theatre of all is to listen to the words which are offered next to a flickering candle; be it for a baptism, birthday, funeral or memorial service"

Language aids in framing the event and establishing a context thus they are central to our experience and the success of various rituals and ceremonies in our personal lives and in the public domain

The underpinning context (situational and cultural aspects) in which a particular ceremony often takes place can allude to the appropriate linguistic paradigm to utilise in it so we can both celebrate positive events and navigate difficult times without offending people

• The relative success of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard's "Sorry" speeches in 2008 and 2013 respectively can be attributed largely to their descriptive awareness of the cultural and situational context and subsequent linguistic conventions underpinning the situation demonstrated in their speeches.
• The register utilised was highly formal and standard yet refrained from incorporating significantly elevated jargon which could have been detrimental to the coherence of the text (especially as it was spoken and levels of education varied throughout the audience in question)
• Repetition of the collective pronoun "we" sought to promote social cohesion and solidarity and lesson notions of social distance and hierarchy
• Repetition of the lexeme "sorry" and associated language was especially significant as in the aboriginal community the lexeme has particular connotations of sharing grief
• Figurative language such as 'shining a light" and "turning of a new page" has significant connotations of improving the lives for those who suffered under the forced adoption legislation
• In contrast, Tony Abbot encountered a great deal of criticism after using the noun phrase "birth parents" and the verb "relinguised" which have particular connotations that the victims of forced adoption were given up rather than viciously and forcefully removed

• The relative formality of the Australian Citizenship pledge is in congruence with the seriousness of the public commitment and the associated expectations and responsibilities. This is reflected in the elevated lexus "pledge" "uphold" and syntactical structure "from this time forward" which is crafted using front focus "whose democratic beliefs I share" to highlight the integral values in our society.

• Of course informality has a significant role to play in ceremony and ritual where the objective is to lessen social distance and promote solidarity and social cohesion. This can be seen on a personal level such as a 21st or 18th birthday party where humour can be achieved through slang or colloquial language and covert prestige elicited through in jokes and idiomatic language. This idea was put into effect in Malcolm Turnbull's eulogy for Robert Hughes were personal nicknames such as "WU" (wicked uncle), personal modes of address "Bob" and casual language "ace" "flogged" functioned as a marker of intimacy.
• Similarly, Kevin Rudd's penchant for idiomatic, quintessential Australian phrases such as "fair shake of the sauce bottle" demonstrate an desire to promote solidarity through the exploitation of the linguistic paradigm underpinning the social group to which his sppech was directed

The importance of language use in the public eye is exemplified in the employment of professional speech writers for senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors especially when covering events of great political or historical events

• Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and U.S Presidents Richard Nixon, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and John F. Kennedy have employed speech writers during their time in power

The formulaic expressions we come to associate with particular events can seem tedious and lacking of individuality, but they provide structure and give us something to fall back on when words fail us, such as in the event of a tragedy because their familiarity reassures us. Such conventional language can also reflect our experiences and sense of identity.

• Euphemistic language such as "she's gone to a better place"
• Understanding of religious linguistic conventions reflect religious upbringing / significance of faith
• Those who comprise congregations come to understand certain linguistic cues offered by the Priest which signal the time to stand up, sit down, pray, be silent, speak etc

• In Australia today, many formal occasions tend to commence with a formalised and set "Acknowledgement of the Land" in which the traditional Indigenous custodians are rightfully shown respect. The fixed nature of this speech is integral to its function in asserting a united, unanimous show of respect towards Aboriginal Australians from which we inherited the land

• The traditional recitation of the Ode on ANZAC day which has remained unchanged since 1921 has a similar function in connoting the immense historical significance of those who fought for our country and providing a link to the past to ensure its perpetuation and relevance to contemporary Australia.

• However, in some instances, linguistic conventions underpinning ritual and ceremony can be subject to change in congruence with the contingency of societal values. The trend towards a traditional marriage's secular counterpart: a civil service has seen the omission of traditional language of particular significance "we are gathered here today under the eyes of God" in some cases. Similarly, the language used in this context is more flexible as people have the choice to omit certain aspects such as the verb "to obey" which is contradictory to contemporary perceptions on gender equality.