Question

phatic [God] does not make the little phatic grunts we make to each other on the phone, to show we're still listening.

Accepted Answer

adj. Pertaining to a type of language used for social interaction rather than to convey meaning, e.g., “Hello” or “How are you?”. When God Talks Back, T.M. Luhrmann, p.73

Word	phatic
Definition	adj. Pertaining to a type of language used for social interaction rather than to convey meaning, e.g., “Hello” or “How are you?”.
Sentence	[God] does not make the little phatic grunts we make to each other on the phone, to show we're still listening.
Source	When God Talks Back, T.M. Luhrmann, p.73

Phatic Make Adj Pertaining Type Language Social Interaction