Two kinds of functions of discourse can be distinguished. First, there are the meaning-bearing or signaling functions. These have to do with the contributions of a given stretch of discourse to the communication of which it is part. For example, verb forms may distinguish whether a sentence is to be understood as declarative or imperative. The key characteristic of the signaling function is that meaning is directly encoded in, and read off of, some aspect of the form of the utterance. Second, however, there are what might be termed the goal functions of discourse, the ways in which speech, as a form of social action, is used to accomplish particular ends that the speaker has (cf. Silverstein 1976). For example, it may be used to build a social alliance or to provoke or to obtain information. One characteristic that differentiates goal functions from signaling functions is that the goal function is usually not itself independently specified in the form of the discourse. We must infer such functions from observation of the role of discourse in ongoing social life.

But if we see goal functions as pertaining primarily to the wants and needs of individuals, we must distinguish these from a third type of discourse function, namely, cultural functions.