One of the six constitutive elements of verbal communication according to Russian linguist Jakobson, Roman (the other functions are: referential, emotive, poetic, conative, and metalingual). The phatic function is the part of communication which keeps open the line of communication itself; it is the means by which two or more speakers reassure themselves that not only are they being listened to, but they are also being understood. It is in this sense a part of communication that is separate from the exchange of meaning; it is, as it were, without content of its own. Examples include such common phrases as âAre you with me?â, âDo you know what I mean?â, and so on.