We explain what the emotional function of language is, how it is expressed and various examples. In addition, other functions of the language.
What is the emotional function of language?
The emotional function is one of the six Language functions (that is, possibilities of use) identified by the Russian linguist and phonologist Roman Jakobson (1896-1982) in his 1958 information theory. These functions are related to the functions themselves communication factors (that is to say: sender, receiver, message, code and channel), and they suppose a more complex development of the works of the German linguist Karl Bühler (1879-1963).
Also called expressive function or symptomatic function, the emotional function of language is one that, centered on the sender of the message, allows the communication of their inner realities, that is, of their feelings, desires or states of mind. This is usually carried out by exclamatory sentences, in the first person, although it can also take the form of rhetorical questions or sarcastic statements.
However, the expressive use of language also has some kind of referentiality.In fact, expressions like "What a beautiful child!" have a grip on a real referent, or deal with real and concrete events, but in them expressive intention predominates, that is, the desire to reveal the interiority of the issuer, rather than to describe a reality exterior and objective.
Examples of emotional function
Some examples of expressive use of the language are the following:
- Expressions that refer to physical sensations: "Oh, it hurts!", "Oh, how good it feels!" or "My head is going to burst!"
- Curses or laments: "Let a lightning bolt strike me!", "Why do these things happen to me?" Oh, it can not be!".
- Exclamations of joy: "What happiness!", "I can't believe it!"
- Expressions of desire: "I wish", "What more would I like".
Other language functions
In addition to the emotive function, Roman Jakobson identifies the following functions of language:
- Referential function, one that allows language to allude to objects of reality, describe situations and express objective, concrete, verifiable contents of the world. It focuses on the message and the communicative situation.
- Appellate function, one that allows the speaker to influence the receiver in a certain way, to request from him some type of action or behavior, or at least some type of response. Logically, it focuses on the receiver.
- Phatic function, one that allows those involved in the communicative act to verify that the communication channel is open, available and viable to initiate the exchange of information. It is the first thing we do when answering a phone, for example. Therefore, it focuses on the communication channel.
- Metalinguistic function, the one that allows the language to explain itself, that is, find equivalents from one language to another, or clarify terms that the receiver does not know, or even convert elements from one language to another. It focuses on the code of communication.
- Poetic function, that which enables language to generate aesthetic effects, that is, to draw attention to its own form and to the way the message is said, rather than the message itself. In that sense, it focuses on both the code and the message, and the most common example of this is found in literary texts.