The expressive function gives room to express emotions and moods, for example.
The expressive function is one of the many functions of language identified by the Russian linguist Roman Jakobson . Using it, the speaker or sender manifests desires, emotions, moods and feelings in the message : that is, he focuses on communicating what and how he feels. In practice, it gives rise to expressions like "What a joy!" , "I'm not feeling well," "Don't you realize you're offending me?" , "How much more will I have to endure?" , "All this has me rotten!" "I'm lucky, what I'm experiencing is beautiful!" or "I need you."
This style of communication, due to the sentimental and revealing particularities it has, is also described as a symptomatic function or emotive function . The contents that fall into this category have subjectivity (contrary to objectivity because it gives rise to a point of view or value judgment) as a distinctive feature. Depending on the intention of the person creating the message, the expressive function can be presented in communications, notes or statements loaded with irony , sarcasm or humor .
Characteristics of the expressive function
Among the characteristics of the expressive function that are easiest to recognize are the tendency to adjective in an evaluative manner and the use of verbs aimed at revealing opinions and issues specific to the inner universe of each person.
It is also common for the first person both singular and plural to be used and for everything from rhetorical exclamation to rhetorical question to be used as expression resources. Its purpose is to move, excite, make known a belief or reveal what process one is going through inside. The sender, through the expressive function , informs what he or she thinks of a certain issue ( "This terrible situation surpasses me" ) or how he or she faces a certain reality ( "Fear paralyzes me, I don't know how to continue..." ).
To keep in mind: non-verbal language is very useful in this framework because with a certain intonation , certain gestures and body expression (moving the hands, waving the arms, smiling or frowning, to list the possibilities) enhances the emotional profile of the language .
Happiness, anger, fear or uncertainty can be expressed thanks to the emotive function of language.
Genres that admit an emotional function
There are genres that admit an emotional function because they are enriched by the sensibility of the issuer . This is the case, for example, with lyric poetry and autobiography .
The expressive function is also displayed in each book of memories , by keeping a personal diary and writing a letter . When analyzing in detail the features of a testimony or a confession , touches of expressive function are undoubtedly detected.
The personal experiences that are narrated on social networks and the contents of a blog that is aimed at sharing texts about human experiences and intimate reflections demonstrate how the expressive function is adapted to each speech , message or work, be it at the level of the literature or not.
It should also be noted that in the field of narrative , thanks to prosopopoeia (a type of ontological metaphor also known as personification ), the characters, even if they are objects or animals, acquire abilities typical of human beings, reacting, feeling , speaking or acting as someone of our species would.
On the other hand, it is interesting to take into consideration the existence of multiple literary figures and resources that contribute to reinforcing or exalting the expressive profile of a text. Hand in hand with anaphora (reiterating one or more words at the beginning of a verse or statement), ellipsis (eliminating at least one term belonging to a phrase without hindering the interpretation of the sentence), hyperbole (exaggerating an episode, a feature, a quantity, etc.) or alliteration (enhancing expressiveness by repeating similar sounds in a fragment or text ), among other alternatives, we arrive at an effective formula to express something with impetus.
Thoughts and feelings can be expressed in a letter.
Importance of the expressive function
The importance of the expressive function lies in the possibility it gives to let what one feels, believes or considers emerge. At the same time, it affects the recipient by influencing their ideas. That is why, for example, those who are dedicated to politics and/or marketing make frequent use of emotional language because they know that with it there are chances of leaving a positive mark on someone, of manipulating them in a certain way and of persuading them.
It cannot be overlooked that this function of language has enormous value for, for example, therapeutic writing , a technique that brings to the surface, in written words, everything that the person cannot verbalize, to extract from its interior.
The emotional issue, the fact of sharing an impression or emotion orally or in writing, is closely linked to emotional intelligence . This concept emphasizes the human capacity to, in a positive and healthy way, understand, use and manage emotions . By developing it, one is able to bond with others efficiently, can feel empathy , generate effective communication and be able to implement active listening , for example.