“Expressive meaning” has many different “meanings” if you should ask to explain the definition of.  The definition of expressive is showing feeling, or full of meaning. It is of, or relating to, or characterized by expression. It effectively conveys thoughts or feelings. Expressive meaning is full of meaning or feelings. It serves to express or indicate meaning or feeling by showing or communicating meaning or feeling effectively. For someone to be expressive it means they would be described by a person or by their behavior as expressive, meaning that their behavior clearly indicates their feelings or intentions. What’s expressive meaning? It is words like oops and ouch. Both of these words convey a certain kind of meaning, neither referring to things in the world.  Nor do they help determine conditions under which a sentence serves the immediate expression of subjective sensations, emotions, affections, evaluations or attitudes. Expressions with expressive meaning are called expressives. More examples of this is father vs dad, dad is less formal, different respect and different emotions… alcohol vs booze is more casual.. and eating vs devouring is different in respect and mannerism. Expressive language and wordplay are embodied in a special word class called “expressives”. This is a basic class of words that are distinct from verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in that they can’t be subjected to logical negation. They describe noises, colours, light patterns, shapes, movements, sensations, and emotions. There is a difference between expressive and propositional meaning. When a translation is described as ‘inaccurate’, it is often the propositional meaning that is being called into question. Expressive meaning can’t be judged as true or false. This is because expressive meaning relates to the speaker’s feeling or attitude rather than to what words and utterance refers to.

We have all been there, where sitting around a table at a holiday with family, a controversial conversation is brought up. Others may agree with the topic and some may definitely not. If guest (A) brings up a topic that makes other feel uncomfortable, guest (B) may use the “manner” part of Grice’s maxims of conversation and say that the topic of the conversation is not welcome or appropriate for the situation. Grice’s maxim of conversation points out that conversations are cooperative. He proposes that every speaker of every language operates with several default assumptions about how conversations may work. These default assumptions include one principle- The cooperative principle and several other Maxims of Conversation. They are not the rules of good communication. “A deliberate deviation from these expectations can be used to communicate extra elements of meaning”. A speaker may communicate by obeying the maxims or by breaking them, as long as the hearer is able to recognize which strategy is being used.

For my final paper, I would like to write about the topic of expressive meaning. What’s expressive meaning? It is words like oops and ouch. Both of these words convey a certain kind of meaning, neither referring to things in the world.  Nor do they help determine conditions under which a sentence serves the immediate expression of subjective sensations, emotions, affections, evaluations or attitudes. Expressions with expressive meaning are called expressives. More examples of this is father vs dad, dad is less formal, different respect and different emotions… alcohol vs booze is more casual.. and eating vs devouring is different in respect and mannerism.

Expressive language and wordplay are embodied in a special word class called “expressives”. This is a basic class of words that are distinct from verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in that they can’t be subjected to logical negation. They describe noises, colours, light patterns, shapes, movements, sensations, and emotions.

There is a difference between expressive and propositional meaning. When a translation is described as ‘inaccurate’, it is often the propositional meaning that is being called into question. Expressive meaning can’t be judged as true or false. This is because expressive meaning relates to the speaker’s feeling or attitude rather than to what words and utterance refers to.

The term expressivity or expressive meaning has a long tradition in linguistics. Roman Jakobson, coined the term expressive or emotive for one of the functions of language. He describes it as “focused on the speaker aims a direct expression of the speaker’s attitude toward what he is speaking about” and gives interjections as the prime example of this function.

1. Simple Antonyms

afraid and confident

a. She is afraid.

b. She is confident.

Exhaust range of possibilites, for things that they can collocate with no middle ground between them, they are binary.

2. Gradable Antonyms

bright and dull

a. The light was bright.

b. The light was dull.

These sentences are contrary. Both can’t be true but both may be false or one may be true and one may be false.

3. Reverses

down and up

a. He put the paper down.

b. He picked the paper up.

These are two words (normally verbs) if they denote motion or change in opposite directions.

4. Converses

doctor and patient

a. Mike is my doctor.

b. I am the patient to Mike.

Pairs or opposites where one can’t exist without the other. They are complementary antonyms.

5. Taxonomic sisters

dog and canine

a. Snickers is my dog.

b. Snickers is a canine.

A dog is a kind of canine. Snickers is a dog who is a canine. Certain kind of hyponymous relationship that involves classification.

 

1a entails 1b

1a) Amy managed to leave on time.

1b) Amy left on time.

2a presupposes 2b

2a) Tim regrets he kissed Jill.

2b) Tim kissed Jill.

The trigger is regrets.

3a presupposes 3b

3a) Tom managed to give up drinking.

3b) Tom tried to give up drinking.

The trigger is managed.

A pair of expressions that have the same denotation, but different expressive meaning that I picked are ‘group’ and ‘clique’. Group has a neutral connotation. This word simply describes a number of people. It has no inspiration on either positive or negative feelings. The word clique, also has the meaning of a group of people. It does however come as a negative connotation, meaning it is understood to be a set of self-serving people who exclude outsiders. It is typically used in circumstances where the group is known for excluding, or leaving others out. Clique is a word that should be used carefully. The denotations of “clique” and “group” are essentially the same. They all mean a set of people which is both the denotations of each. However, these words are not interchangeable because they have different connotations. For example, they come with different unsaid ideas.