Issues Of Using Linguistic Means As Symbols Of Emotion In Various Manners – Analysis

Various linguistic means used in texts at certain conditions become specific indicators of emotions. The modern linguists fairly try to explain the linguistic nature based particularly, on the natural human – mutual relations with the personal worldview. It is quite evident that each man’s activity is inseparable from his emotions directly conveyed through speech, mimics, movements, voice, etc.

It is interesting that V. I. Shakhovsky, the famous linguist citing and exposing to inversion the well-known biblical phrase “A word was the first…” writes: “An emotion was the first…” [13, 152]. A lot of modern scientists agree with this position. Thus, L. Vekker asserts that “the emotions wholly and generally are so versatile that they thoroughly express the centuries-old practice of humanity touching not only the personal senses but also the psychology of behavior of people or groups in the society as well as the physiology, the forms of self-knowledge and their conceptualization” [2, 372]. S. Lazarev, in his turn, expands the sphere of emotiveness of text, subordinates the emotions to certain “informational algorithm”. In his interpretation “a man is firstly managed by senses and then “thinks with thoughts” jointly helping to pass any esthetically significant information” [5, 168]. 

Indeed, the emotive space of a text is based upon emotions and accumulates all possible responses, first of all, causing various emotional experiences. Though, it may be expressed both in the external and internal levels. In the first case we speak about the primate of human factor and domination of emotiveness in scientific or artistic texts in the second one. S. Malevinsky asserts that “the main role in the texts belongs to specially selected linguistic means among which, in the first turn, it is necessary to show the so-called discursively-generating factor acting as a specific indicator of emotiveness of texts of mixed types” [6, 217]. 

What is the meaning of helping to actualize “the emotive field”? First of all, we would show those “forming” the expression. Namely it brings to the linguistic text, although additional, but in any case, very important meaning shades. They stand as a chain. Intermingling with lexical and grammatical meanings, they organically strengthen the expression of the linguistic meanings. Expressiveness and emotionality gain a close mutual relation between themselves.

It is noticeable that some researchers look at this relation differently. Let’s clarify this issue. R. Budagov, V. Zvegintsev, V. Gak and some others equalize them and thus, often use these meanings in their own works as synonyms. We’ll support another opinion. Should the differentiation be deemed as non-essential? It is unlikely. These two categories have common points of intersection. According to B. Sharifullin, “the emotional expressiveness appears full of the content plan and, the non-emotional or “logical” expression is an expression plan. The first plan, upon B. Sharifullin’s idea, intensifies the text and, the second one is able to cause a certain impact on readers or listeners by means of expressing evaluation [12, 143].

Unfortunately, B. Sharifullin could not develop this idea whereas the correlation of two aforesaid plans in the scientific and artistic texts differs. The appropriate linguistic means (it is commented below in our article) evidently may serve as indicator of expansion or contraction of the emotive space. However, the principal division of the types of texts from the position of search and solution of necessary linguistic means in them only complicates the issue. It is not actual for a simple reason that sometimes the content of a significant text contains an emotional item and, on the contrary, upon the author’s will, the artistic narration sometimes contains scientific terms, too. 

Thus, we consider as more complicated and disputable the issue of the expression degree as stimulation of the subjective utterance. Thus, the modes of separation, strengthening and concentration on certain utterances may function in two types of texts on the equal ground. Besides, declinations from the speech standards and norms during expression of emotions, senses and moods may be met in the fixed type of texts among the linguistic means. Various linguistic means allot emotional charge of different power to any judgment. Hereby the factor of evaluation, achievement of figurativeness and creation of esthetic effects becomes clear for the scientists dealing with linguistic analysis of this issue. In separate cases, expansion of emotive space is observed owing to the emotions producing either strengthening or weakening of the critics’, readers’ and listeners’ attention on any concrete object (subject). 

Let’s give a specific example. Chingiz Abdullayev’s novel titled “A maniac’s mind” starts with original introduction. It is one of the specific fragments of the text complying with the goal and tasks of our article. “We should carry on our shoulders the heavy load of aliens?! A fear, a guilt, an evil caused by others, alien hands. Why the blood poured by you should torment me inside?! As though, I hear condemnation of foreign villains and complaints of innocent victims. Why my unhappy soul should suffer because of you? As if, the smell of your blood causes sickness in my body and pressures with irresistibility of guilt. What now? Am I obliged to bear your fates on my back and move through your way? Meanwhile, in my opinion, you have found a rest from your actions in graves long ago” [1,3]. 

Let’s analyze the aforesaid fragment of the text. Ch. Abdullayev is the author of a detective novel and undoubtedly, an artistic work. Simultaneously, the writer has used the linguistic means showing emotiveness of speech fragment. First, there are many inversions here bringing an expression touch both to separate sentences and the entire text. Second, the seven distributed and one elliptic sentence have a particle “but”.

It is not difficult to see that in this context it has a role of strengthening particle (like “neither”) and brings nuances of emotional mood to some rhetorical issues. The literal hero (or the speech subject in linguistics) putting philosophic questions to himself appears in the interrogating position (like “a voice in the wilderness’). The functional closeness of the particle “but” to the strengthening one shows some lyricism of the text. It is optional and dozed but it exists. Third, the emotiveness in its nature is closely connected with expression of subjectivity. The novel-style narration with its strict laws principally contradicts to this rule. However, in our opinion, Ch. Abdullayev wrote this text prudently not by himself but used it as an expanded epigraph in the prologue. In fact, it is an extract from the medieval manuscript by Per Lagerquist titled “An executor”. At last, fourth, it is not difficult to find in this brief introduction the above-mentioned modes of separation and strengthening as well as various methods of concentrating on alien utterance. 

The writer hereby unraveled his hands. Here we pass to the second part of analysis of the fragment of speech containing various text layers. Namely, in the non-homogenous types of text (neo-modernism established on eclectics of realism and post-modern style) it may occur only in the case if a reader is plunged in a world not imagined but only narrated. The mediateness and multifaceted style of the evaluations of emotive field brings voluminousness to the rhetoric questions. Owing to the bright expression of sentence the consequent ones become complex syntactic whole and, the text becomes stereoscopic (or, more precisely, stereophonic). Simultaneously – with a known ironic hinge – as if, gradually realized the rejection from the author’s omniscience becoming problematic before the face of possible and unpleasant unexpectedness from meetings with inevitability. 

It stylizes the artistic text under scientific one. The plenty of lexemes connected to blood, death, innocent victims and grave (the issues of translation of this novel into English are not tasks of this article) create a very gloomy background. There is a textual combination of existential and post-modernistic beginnings all over accompanied by clear signs of emotiveness. Investigating this type of text it is necessary, first of all, to centralize its feature like expressiveness reflected by means of syntactic constructions.  

Let’s leave the fragment of Ch. Abdullayev’s novel and theoretically summarize the aforesaid issues. Further speaking about variety of linguistic means of emotive field is not purposeful without clarifying a concept of “expressive syntax”. The modern linguists T. B. Trosheva and N. V. Danilevskaya, in particular reveal it. They interpret this concept as the “ability of syntactic units to act, first of all, as important expressive-stylistic means connected to achievement of expressive effect of utterance” [10, 474]. Another scientist i.e. V. A. Salimovsky supports this interpretation. Based upon the formulation brought by T. Trosheva and N. V. Danilevskaya he operates with two accompanying concepts i. e. “expressive stylistics” and “emotive-emotional stylistics” which consequently study the expressive means of the linguistic system and the appropriateness of their usage by the informants [9,622]. Whereas, the provision brought to review by V. A. Salimovsky objectively belongs to almost all languages including the Slavic and Roman-German groups. In future, for convenient comprehension we will support the concept of “expressive syntax” although going beyond the narrow frames of the article, we will analyze not only the syntactic but also lexical-stylistic modes more productively in the level of monograph or thesis. 

Indeed, expressiveness as one of the most important linguistic means used in our article in the directions we need is a complex concept and it is admitted by many researchers. Thus, Y. Galkina-Fedoruk, L. Barlas, N. Lukyanova, V. Kharchenko, V. Gak, I. Khudyakov, V. Babaytseva, V. Shakhovsky and others show as linguistic means of emotiveness the elements contained in the lexical-semantic content of the concept of expression as intensiveness, evaluation, convenience of comprehension by reared, listener, critics equally to emotionality and figurativeness (the latter is clearly expressed mainly in the texts of artistic works). 

In our opinion, the most significant component complying with the title of the article is “emotionality” able to be understood in two meanings: first, as a subject’s feature and his ability of feeling emotions, coloring own actions and behaviors with senses and appropriately expressing them. Second, as feature of linguistic sign, its potential semiotic ability of expressing the fact of the subject’s emotional experience of some phenomenon of reality. Y. Nechay shows that these real “linguistic means express namely the phenomenon significantly expanding the emotive space of artistic, scientific and documental types of texts owing to the subjective (or denotative) content of a concrete linguistic sign” [7,43]. Perhaps, the next note has some share of exaggeration; however, in the scientist’s opinion, emotionality as the central component of emotiveness of the texts of various types “acquire in certain conditions even a terminological status” [7, 44]. 

It is evident in the range of emotive field that some linguists ascribe to these means also the psychological signs. For instance, according to Y.Galkina-Fedoruk, “the emotional start in the texts of various contents is simultaneously able to correlate with the volitional and intellectual features whereas each of them finds own means of expression in a language. Hereby, the expressiveness, as a rule, pierce as through a chain the emotional, volitional, and intellectual features. However, emotional is always expressive, in its turn, is not always emotional” [3,45]. 

Let’s continue this judgment. Thus, Y.Galkina-Fedoruk tries to make clear for other researchers the thought that expression is possible without emotions. It means that the meaning of expressive is wider than the meaning of emotional. However, let’s note (already beyond its theoretical provisions) that despite of all terminological closeness the expression upon own wide sphere of application, certainly, should be divided from emotions as its certain internal part i. e. integral component. Besides, these two terms also differ from emotiveness. 

In our opinion, this issue is certainly clarified by I. M. Gindlina, another modern famous linguist. As Galkina-Fedoruk, she also thinks that “the concept of expressiveness is wider than the concept of emotionality” [4,4], but particularly notes that they are in the texts of various types in relation to inclusion on the equal basis” [4, 5-6]. 

It is the time for us to clarify these close concepts. Indeed, the special linguistic literature has both the terms of “emotionality” and “emotiveness”. They should be differed remembering certain synonymity of separate linguistic means creating a unique emotive space of texts of various types. In our opinion, the essence of the matter is that the emotiveness is immanently specific for the languages of various groups as one of the most important semantic features expressed by the system of specific means reflecting the emotions and expression in its turn. 

Above-mentioned Nechay saw expansion of the emotive space by means of possible linguistic means owing to inclusion into texts of the various types of “occasionalism, sound, lexical and syntactic repetitions, author’s neologisms, sound deformation of separate words, movement of various stylistic layers in one utterance, introduction of non-literal and foreign elements of speech owing to the simple and neutral items in uncommon application” [7,34]. 

The sphere of their application with a majority of nuances is so wide that sometimes it goes beyond the special subject of the linguistic research (although determined by their parameters). Thus, sometime Zoller assumed that “the expressiveness and emotionality may be created directly by means of evident actualization of the additional background knowledge including various historical and literal reminiscences” [11,37]. 

It should be added that all listed linguistic means are specific for numerous modernistic works including the police detectives by Ch. Abdullayev. They have a lot of fragments having a bright feature of expressiveness. Generally, it is noticeable that expression of various emotions in the artistic texts is very laborious process for the linguistic analysis. The main difficulty is in strict separation of the lexical-semantic organization of the artistic texts themselves at a variety of functions envisaged for implementation of the emotive means in conditions of complex sign of speech like text. 

Besides, sometimes other factors are added to the linguistic ones. For instance, linguist L. V. Shevelyova notes that “the emotional background, sensitive comprehension of the object by the subject is stimulated with not only linguistic but some extralinguistic factors: historical and social in certain segment of time complying with communicative demands and – first of all – the subject’s incentive” [14, 112]. 

Some scientists note existence in texts of various types of personal meaning which always or, at least, often is emotional or dominating. The author of the text always, saying figuratively, “burden” own creation with personal interest, own emotional position, own subjective view of the world structuring the lexical, syntactic and stylistic means at own discretion. 

V. A. Pishalnikova notes that “the emotive field” mostly depends on the character of the advanced emotion, as a rule, fixed in the text and, it is expressed as an emotional dominant in it” [8, 119]. It is noticeable that above-mentioned V. I. Shakhovsky using V. A. Pishalnikova’s terminology develops this idea and assumes that a so-called pre-dominant and dominant emotional meanings jointly with the implicit and associative meanings of the emotive discourse create movable and associative meaning field of dominant emotion” [13, 155]. 

V. I. Shakhovsky factually brings to the idea that the emotions in the emotive space are closely connected to each other with general functions. We succeeded to discover the essence of this connection in one of the works by his like-minded person – Y. A. Sorokin. He also asserts that “the emotional component in the artistic texts are near and pass to each other creating an irresolvable suggestive” [15]. 

Really, with all due respect for the authoritative modern linguists, an author and reader depending on the target of utterance may have a different comprehension of the emotive space passed through a code language. We agree with the fact that various linguistic means form this space acting as markers or indicators of emotiveness of texts. However, we would like to complete the article with asserting that the meaning dominant of not only artistic but also scientific texts is not constant for all of his clients (readers, audience, professional critics). 

When the researchers implement linguistic analysis of various texts, they often comprehensively remember the linguistic norms and rules impossible without considering the certain set of specific features. These are subjectivity, objectivity, integrity, structuralism, constant style, activity, categorization, sensibility and so on. In the process of analysis they really find application of each concrete concept: linguistic – first of all, and as additional information – literal scientific and partially psychological. Each of these signs have terminological definition. They have independent spectrum of action and methods of subordination to certain linguistic algorithm (or, as we stipulated in our article – “code”). 

However, we dare to assert it is not our case i. e. not practicable for the linguistic means forming emotive space of text. The mutual relation of the external projecting emotional dominant and internal one is specific for each recipient. Namely for this reason it is very difficult and sometimes impossible to reach unique comprehension of texts of various types. It causes poly-emotiveness and poly-dominating of meanings. 

For instance, the emotive space often contains various textual signs. They fixate the emotional tension also through various types of the emotionally colored and emotionally essential words or details. Assumedly, the emotions may be implicit expressed through linguistic means like affection, connotativeness and potentials as well as through description of emotions of the body language. Saying in modern language, they form a dense emotional space of various types of texts where the reader is also involved. Besides, the text may be enriched with various syntactic modes, in particular, repetitions, insertions, inversions, etc. It also, undoubtedly, has certain emotional tonality. In its turn, explication of emotions may happen in the text or through their direct calling (often in author’s remarks), direct speech, or via description of emotional body language. However, it is beyond the frames of our article. 

It is necessary for us to underline that the significant part of emotional senses and states of subjects pass to readers though emotive speech acts and appropriate lexical, grammatical and stylistic solutions (repetitions, effectiveness, potentiality, parallel constructions, ellipses, etc.). At last, summarizing, it is noticeable that the emotive space of modern text discovers the richness of emotiveness. Sometimes there are met meanings able to cross and diverge, be attracted, and pushed. It is understandable: the text formation sector is often ruled by author’s estimation, saying precisely, super-estimation or overestimation, explicit or implicit, fastening all its semantic components. Certainly, they have emotive meanings ensuring integrity of the entire content of various types of texts. 

*Prof. Ulviyya Abbasova, Ph. D., is currently working as Director of International Affairs, at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University in Baku.  

Bibliography:

1. Abdullayev Ch. “A maniac’s mind”. Novel. M.: Astrel, 2004, 253 p.
2. Vekker L.M. Psychics and reality: a unique theory of psychic processes. M.: Smisl. Publication Center “Academy”, 1998, 274 p. 
3. Galkina-Fedoruk Y.M. Expressiveness and emotionality in language // Collection of linguistic articles. M.: Soviet Russia, 1958, p.38-51. 
4. Gindlina I.M. Expressive word-creating means in artistic speech and methods of their passing during translation.  Author’s abstract of dissertation of candidate of philological sciences. M.: 1999, 28 p.
5. Lazarev S.N. Diagnostics of karma. The sixth book: Steps to Divine. SPb.: Iskusstvo, 2001, 301 p.
6. Malevinsky S.O. The semantic functions of emotional-estimating words // Sphere of language and pragmatics of speech intercourse: International collection of scientific works. Krasnodar: Kuban State University, 2003, p.215-223
7. Nechay Y.P. Emotiveness and emotiogenousity of language: the mechanisms of explications and conceptualization: Krasnodar: Kuban State University, 2006, p.227
8. Pishalnikova V.A. Emotional dominant of text: translational aspect. // Emotive code of language and its realization. Volgograd: Publication SOP “Center”, 2003, p.117-121
9. Salimovsky V.A. Some issues of expressive stylistics // Sphere of language and pragmatics of speech intercourse. International collection of scientific works. Krasnodar: Kuban State University, 2006, p.617-624
10. Trosheva T.B., Danilevskaya N.V. Stylistic resources of syntax // Stylistic encyclopedic dictionary of Russian language. M.: Flinta: Nauka, 2003, p.474-482. 
11. Zoller V.N. Expressive vocabulary // Philological sciences. Issue No.6 M.: “Progress” Publication Group, 1996, p. 36-41. 
12. Sharifullin B.Y. Explicit and implicit expressivity of lexic unit // Phenomenon of variety in language. Kemerovo: KemIzdat, 1997, p.142-144. 
13. Shakhovsky V.I. Emotional-meaning dominant in natural and artistic communication // Language and emotions: personal meanings and dominants in the speech activity. Collection of scientific works. Volgograd: Publication SOP “Center”, 2004, p.147-167
14. Shevelyova L.V. Emotionality and meaning of word // Materials of international conference devoted to professor Mariya Dmitriyevna Stepanova’s scientific heritage and its further development. M.: MSLU, 2001, p.112-115

Literature from Internet:

1. 15. Sorokin Y.A. Issues of emotive field of Russian language http://www.hermeneuticsonline.net