Do you know what emotive language is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on emotive language, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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December 12, 2021
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What is emotive language?
According to Assignment Help Pro, emotive language refers to emotive words used in different forms of writing that connote positive emotions or negative emotions aside from the words’ literal meanings. A non-emotive version of a document might be an academic essay, public announcements or journals, while an emotive form might be found in speeches, poetry, personal diaries, slogans, public services like a PSA and prose, among other circumstances. Many different emotions can be evoked using emotive language. These various emotions include pride, angry phrases, disgust, sympathy, enthusiasm, courage, contempt, brotherhood, curiosity, compassion, hatred, clarity, sorrow, aggression, envy, embarrassment, frustration, agony, optimism, confusion, satisfaction, and other reader’s emotions. This is loaded language and can even have a greater emotional impact than intended.
Religious beliefs, gender, age and socioeconomic factors also influence the effects that emotive language and connotations can have on an audience. Loaded words might make different people feel different ways. The main aim of such language is to make people feel something. If you made a PSA on a brave gran saving an orphan and abandoned children, you want the intended audience members to feel the emotion of the situation. These are some of the benefits of emotive language.
Many different languages also contain words that mean emotive. You may notice that some of these translations of emotive look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of emotive is provided by Word Sense.
- Bulgarian: чувствен
- Danish: følelsesmæssig, emotionel
- Latvian: emocionāls
- Romanian: emoțional
- Czech: emoční (masc.), citový (masc.)
- French: émotionnel
- Esperanto: emocia
- Catalan: emocional
- Maltese: emozzjonali
- Swedish: emotionell
- Spanish: emocional (masc.) (f)
- Hungarian: érzelmi, érzelmes, hangulati
- Hebrew: רִגְשִׁי (rigshi)
- Portuguese: emocional, emotivo
- Tagalog: madamdamin
- Italian: emotivo (masc.), emozionante (masc.)
- Swahili: simikwa
- Korean: 감성적인
- German: emotional
- Japanese: 感情的 (かんじょうてき, kanjōteki)
- Finnish: tunne-, tunne-elämän (genitive of a noun)
- Russian: эмоциона́льный, чу́вственный
- Mandarin: 感情
What are examples of emotive language?
The common types of emotive language can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of emotive language from Assignment Help Pro, Grammar Monster, and ABC Assignment Help that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use.
- “One hundred years later the life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity..” – Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Don’t be afeard, Sounds and sweet airs, the isle that is filled with noises, that hurt not and give delight. Sometimes many tangling instruments would hum about my ears as well as sometimes voices like That, if then I had been waked from long sleep, would be making me sleep again: moreover in my dream, I thought the clouds would open and confirm riches that are Ready to be dropped on me, while I waked up, I shouted to dream again.”- William Shakespeare, The Tempest
- You are meticulous.
- The refugee was left with horrific injuries.
- You are plain.
- The government will slash interest rates.
- An innocent bystander suffered facial injuries when the thug launched his glass across the bar.
- The police arrested him for carrying out an unprovoked attack.
- You are unassuming.
- He is svelte.
- His pinched face and nasty frown made him the least favorite teacher in the school.
- He is skinny.
- For what seemed a lifetime, Mr Smith was subjected to a vicious, cowardly assault by the unemployed, steroid-pumped monster.
- You are nitpicking.
- She dumped her boyfriend.
- A giant truck viciously crushed the poor biker.
- A dangerous dog badly champed a small boy.
- The innocent man was misjudged and sentenced to death by a biased court.
- The laptop bought by him was economical.
- The adorable girl entered the stage in gorgeous attire.
- I saw a video on the brutal slaughter of whales.
- She organized a lavish party yesterday.
- The stench of the dumpster filled the home, causing the residents to feel nauseous.
- Her glitzy gown sparkled in the moonlight.
- His dumpy frock was the laughing stock of the event.
What are other literary techniques and devices?
There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these devices because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of literary devices from Reedsy and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you.
- Metaphor
- Symbolism
- Synecdoche
- Archetype
- Anastrophe
- Anthropomorphism
- Polysyndeton
- Cumulative sentence
- Simile
- Malapropism
- Zoomorphism
- Anachronism
- Oxymoron
- Point of view
- Aphorism
- Euphemism
- In Medias Res
- Repetition
- Onomatopoeia
- Imagery
- Hyperbole
- Hypophora
- Paradox
- Litotes
- Frame story
- Motif
- Euphemisms
- Foreshadowing
- Metonymy
- Tragicomedy
- Tautology
- Tone
- Satire
- Isocolon
- Colloquialism
- Exposition
- Chiasmus
- Flashback
- Alliteration
- Tmesis
- Allusion
- Dramatic irony
- Anaphora
- Allegory
- Irony
- Personification
- Juxtaposition
- Soliloquy
Overall, the definition of emotive language is language that evokes emotion.
Sources:
- Literary Devices | Reedsy
- What is Emotive Language? Definition, Example, Use and Benefits | Assignment Help Pro
- Understand Emotive Language: What Is It And How It Can Help You From Renowned Essay Writers | ABC Assignment Help
- Emotive | Word Sense
- Emotive Language | What is Emotive Language? | Grammar Monster
